Flood Zone A

What Zone A means

FEMA assigns Zone A to areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event where detailed hydraulic analyses have not been performed. Because the mapping uses approximate methods, no base flood elevations (BFEs) or flood depths are shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map for these areas.

Zone A is inside the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Communities and property owners can request more detailed studies; where a detailed study is later completed, areas may be re-designated (for example, to Zone AE).

The federal mandatory purchase rule

Because Zone A is inside the Special Flood Hazard Area, the federal mandatory purchase requirement applies: under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended, a building in this zone that secures a loan from a federally regulated or insured lender in an NFIP-participating community must carry flood insurance for the life of the loan. NFIP building coverage for a residential structure is capped by statute at $250,000, with contents coverage capped at $100,000.

Zones and premiums

Under the NFIP's current pricing methodology (Risk Rating 2.0), a property's flood zone is no longer the primary variable used to set its premium; zones continue to determine whether the mandatory purchase requirement applies. This page describes zone mechanics only and carries no premium statistics.

Verifying a property's zone

Zone boundaries are set by FEMA's flood maps and can change as maps are revised. The authoritative record for any address is FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. For the NFIP policy and claims statistics of a specific ZIP code, use the ZIP lookup tool on this site.