Flood Zone Designations & Flood Maps

A majority of the City of Fort Lauderdale’s residents live in or close to a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). This means, a property is in or near the SFHA, as mapped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is vulnerable to flooding. To determine your flood zone, refer to the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), available online or by visiting the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Floodplain Management Information pages. 

Flood maps are used to determine:

• flood risk to properties
• flood insurance purchase requirements
• flood insurance rates
• minimum finished-floor elevations for new construction and substantial improvements to existing structures

The maps benefit various groups of people in different ways:

• Community planners and local officials gain an understanding of the flood hazards and risks that affect our region and incorporate this knowledge to local planning activities.
• Builders and developers have access to detailed information for making decisions on where to build and how construction can affect local flood hazard areas.
• Insurance agents, insurance companies, and lending institutions have easy on-line access to data they can use to serve their customers and community more efficiently.
• Home and business owners have the ability to make better financial decisions about protecting their properties.

By always adopting the latest flood maps, Broward County and the City of Fort Lauderdale are assured that FEMA will offer assistance during emergencies and provide flood insurance coverage for county residents. The low- and moderate-risk zones are represented on the maps by the letter “X”, "0.2 PCT" or an “X” that is shaded. The inland high-risk zones will be labeled with designations such as “A”, “AE”, “AH”, “AO”, and coastal high hazard areas that are subject to high velocity wave action are designated as “VE”.  The following flood zone designation determines whether or not flood insurance is mandatory.

Zone A
Flood zone determined by approximate methods, as no Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) are available for these areas. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AE
Flood zone that corresponds with flood depths greater than 3 feet. Base Flood Elevations Determined. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AH
Flood zone that corresponds to areas of shallow flooding with average depths between 1 and 3 feet (usually areas of ponding). Base Flood Elevations Determined. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AO
Flood zone that corresponds to river or stream flood hazard areas with average depths between 1 and 3 feet (usually in the form of sheet flow). Base Flood Elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone VE
Flood zone that corresponds to coastal areas that have velocity hazards (wave action). Base Flood Elevations determined. Mandatory flood insurance requirements apply.

Zone X-Shaded and Zone 0.2 PCT Annual
Flood zones that are outside the SFHA or the average flood depths of less than 1 foot. Flood insurance purchase is not mandatory.