Flood zone, storm alerts and power outages for your address
Type a US address to see its FEMA flood zone in plain English, whether a lender usually requires flood insurance, the National Weather Service alerts in force there, power outages in its county right now, and a storm-ready checklist fitted to the place. Free.
What the check tells you
- The flood zone under the address, from FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer, in plain English, with whether a lender usually requires flood insurance.
- Every National Weather Service warning, watch and advisory in force at the address: what it is, until when, and what to do, in two sentences.
- Power outages in the address’s county now, utility by utility, with the estimated restoration where the utility gives one.
- A storm-ready checklist fitted to the flood zone and to being on the coast.
- The sources, each with the time it was read.
The address goes to the U.S. Census geocoder to find its point. Without an account, nothing about a lookup is stored.
Get alerts for an address with a free account: an email when the Weather Service issues a warning there, or when 100 or more customers lose power in its county.
What each flood zone means
| Zone | Risk | What it means | Flood insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| A, AE, AH, AO, A99, AR | High risk | FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area: at least a 1% chance of flooding in any year, which FEMA says is a 1 in 4 chance of flooding at least once over a 30-year mortgage. AH and AO flood shallowly, usually 1 to 3 feet deep. | Usually required with a mortgage from a federally regulated or federally backed lender. |
| V, VE | High risk, on the coast | A 1% chance of flooding a year, with storm waves on top: the coastal high hazard area. | Usually required with a mortgage from a federally regulated or federally backed lender. |
| X (shaded), B | Moderate risk | Between the 1% and the 0.2%-a-year (500-year) flood lines, or an area a levee protects from the 1% flood. Levees can fail or be overtopped. | Not usually required, though any lender may ask for it. |
| X (unshaded), C | Minimal risk | Above the 0.2%-a-year (500-year) flood. Minimal is not zero: heavy rain and blocked drains flood homes outside mapped areas every year. | Not usually required. |
| D | Undetermined | Flooding is possible, but FEMA has not studied the risk. Unknown, not low. | Not federally required; a lender may still ask, and insurers price it case by case. |
| No digital map | Not on FEMA’s online map | The community may only have a paper map, or none. No map does not mean no risk. | Ask your lender; the Flood Map Service Center may hold a paper map. |
FEMA’s definitions: FEMA glossary, flood zones and FloodSmart, what is my flood risk.
Is flood insurance required?
Your lender decides whether you need flood insurance, using FEMA’s official flood maps. A mortgage from a federally regulated or federally backed lender on a building in a high-risk zone (A or V, the Special Flood Hazard Area) requires it.
Without a mortgage, flood insurance is not required anywhere, but FEMA strongly recommends it in high-risk zones.
Most home and renters insurance does not cover floods. A new National Flood Insurance Program policy usually takes 30 days to start.
Almost a third of flood insurance claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside high-risk areas.
FEMA’s caution
Only FEMA makes an official flood zone determination, and your lender decides whether you need flood insurance. The check reads FEMA’s public flood map; it is a guide, not a determination. For the official map of an address (a FIRMette), search it at FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.
Storm-ready checklist
For every home, now
- Have more than one way to get alerts: emergency alerts on your phone, a NOAA Weather Radio and the FEMA app. (Ready.gov)
- Build a kit: water (a gallon per person per day, for several days), food that keeps, a flashlight, batteries, a first aid kit and your medicines. (Ready.gov)
- Make a plan: how you’ll reach each other, where you’ll meet, and who may need extra help. (Ready.gov)
- Put working carbon monoxide detectors on every floor. (Ready.gov)
- Keep copies of your insurance policies and IDs together, in a waterproof bag or a password-protected online folder. (Ready.gov)
In a high-risk flood zone (A or V)
- Get flood insurance before you need it. A new policy usually takes 30 days to start, and most home and renters policies don’t cover floods. (FEMA FloodSmart)
- Photograph every room and what’s in it now, so a claim goes faster. (FEMA FloodSmart)
- Move valuables up high. Clear drains and gutters; consider check valves and a sump pump with a battery backup. (Ready.gov)
- Plan where you’d go and how you’d get there, and practise it with your household and pets. (Ready.gov)
On the coast
North Carolina’s 21 counties with hurricane evacuation zones: Beaufort, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington (NC Emergency Management).
- Look up your evacuation zone; officials order evacuations by zone. (NC Emergency Management)
- Bring in outdoor furniture and anything the wind can throw. Consider hurricane shutters. (Ready.gov)
- If officials order an evacuation, leave right away. (Ready.gov)
If the power goes out
- Keep the fridge and freezer shut. (Ready.gov)
- Run a generator only outdoors, at least 20 feet from windows, doors and garages. (Ready.gov)
- Never heat your home with a gas stove or oven. (Ready.gov)
- When in doubt, throw it out: food above 40°F for two hours or more. (Ready.gov)
If water rises
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder: matches the address to a point, its county and state
- FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer: the flood zone under that point, from FEMA’s effective flood maps
- National Weather Service: the warnings, watches and advisories in force at that point
- Outage Data Initiative Nationwide (ODIN), Oak Ridge National Laboratory / U.S. Department of Energy: power outages by county and utility, as the utilities that take part report them
- Ready.gov and FEMA FloodSmart: the steps of the storm-ready checklist
Duke Energy and Dominion Energy do not share their outages with ODIN, so their customers are not counted. Where they serve (Duke: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky; Dominion: Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina) the check says so and links to their own outage maps.
- Duke Energy outage map (Duke Energy customers)
- Dominion Energy outage map (Virginia and North Carolina)
- Dominion Energy South Carolina outage map (South Carolina)