Implemented in the map tool
National Flood Hazard Layer
FEMA · released Ongoing, effective maps updated on a rolling basis
Visit National Flood Hazard Layer
FEMA's official effective flood insurance rate map data, showing regulatory flood zones (e.g. Zone AE, Zone X) and base flood elevations used for insurance and floodplain-management decisions today.
General Information
- Geographic scope within coastal California
- United States (national), including California
- Tool release year and updates
- Ongoing, effective maps updated on a rolling basis
Projected Flood Information
- Annual flood risk
- No
- Annual flood risk (various return periods)
- No
- Base flood elevation
- Yes
- Coastal groundwater flooding
- No
- Erosion projections
- No
- FEMA flood zones
- Yes
- High tide flooding thresholds (minor/moderate/major)
- No
- King tide
- No
- Mapping uncertainty / confidence layers
- No
- Marsh migration space
- No
- Near-100-year storm scenario
- No
- Shoreline erosion
- No
- Storm surge / extreme tide
- No
- Stormwater / compound flooding
- No
- Wave run-up
- No
Shoreline Processes
- Coastal flood thresholds
- No
- Coastal groundwater
- No
- Compound flooding with stormwater runoff
- No
- Dynamic hydrodynamic modeling
- No
- Erosion / shoreline change
- No
- Habitat-based risk reduction
- No
- High tide flooding
- No
- Hurricane storm surge
- No
- King tide
- No
- Levee overtopping
- No
- Marsh migration
- No
- Marsh migration / habitat change
- No
- Regulatory base flood elevation
- Yes
- Riverine and coastal flood zones
- Yes
- SLR inundation
- No
- Shoreline erosion
- No
- Shoreline overtopping
- No
- Storm surge / extreme tide
- No
- Tide-gauge monitoring
- No
- Wave run-up
- No
Exposure Analysis Provided on Flooding Impacts to Assets
- Critical facilities
- No
- Economic / property value
- No
- Infrastructure & buildings
- Yes
- Natural resources / habitats
- No
- Population / demographics
- No
Data, Reports, and Summary Information Available
- Reports, summary info, or other analyses available for download
- Zone lookup and downloadable GIS flood-zone layers via the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
General Information Regarding Sea Level Rise Model
- Base sea level rise model
- None — reflects today's regulatory floodplain, not a future sea-level-rise scenario.
Strengths and Limitations
- Top 3 strengths
- The authoritative source for regulatory flood zones and insurance requirements
- Public domain, well documented, and continuously maintained by a federal agency
- Distinguishes zone subtype and base flood elevation, not just a yes/no flood extent
- Top 3 limitations
- Reflects present-day conditions only — no sea-level-rise or future-scenario projections
- Zone detail only renders at close-in, neighborhood-level zoom
- Coverage and currency of the underlying study vary by county