Federal Flood Hazard Zoning Updates
Overview
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 in response to the growing costs of storm recovery efforts in the US. Boston is currently an NFIP community, which allows the city and its residents to access disaster recovery funds. Participation also ensures that everyone, even in areas with a high risk of flooding, has the option to purchase flood insurance.
To remain as an NFIP community, Boston must periodically adopt new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and concurrent updates to Article 25 of the Zoning Code. This round of updates focuses on non-coastal areas of Boston that are being moved into a special flood hazard area (SFHA) because of increased flood risk as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The SFHA is the area where the NFIP's floodplain management regulations are enforced. There is also a requirement to purchase flood insurance in SFHAs for properties that have received disaster recovery assistance or that have a federally-backed mortgage.
Special Flood Hazard Area Change Viewer
To see if your home or apartment is moving into a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) for this round of updates, type your address into the search box on the Special Flood Hazard Area Change Viewer. Using your cursor to navigate, you can also zoom into your address using the "+" and "-" buttons in the bottom right-hand corner.
If your parcel is pink only, it will be moved into an SFHA for this round of updates. If it is blue only, it is currently in an SFHA. If it is blue and pink, it is currently in an SFHA, and the area that NFIP considers to be high risk within your parcel is expanding.
Please note that this map does not contain all high-risk flood areas in Boston. This round of updates is primarily for non-coastal areas.
Get Involved
Public Engagement
Past Events
Federal Flood Hazard Zoning Updates Info Session
Thursday, April 04, 2024
BPDA staff gave an overview of the project’s scope and affected neighborhoods and discussed the benefits of purchasing flood insurance if your property or business is located in a flood zone. The presentation was followed by an open discussion session to ask questions about the changes.
Resources