Breaking Down Flood Maps in the Florida Keys

Flood Maps in the Florida Keys, can be a bit confusing.  So I am going to break it down for you to make it as simple as possible.

So lets get one thing straight, basically everywhere in the Florida Keys is in a Flood Zone. I know some of you are going to come at me and say there are X-ZONES. X-ZONES mean that the probability of Flooding is very rare. However, a lot of the X-Zones are going away once the New Flood Maps are implemented.

FEMA is currently working on updating their Flood Maps for Monroe County. The Draft Flood Maps for Monroe county can be found by following this link.  About two years ago the county showed the public the drafts maps; then there was a period where homeowners could appeal the changes.  We are currently waiting for the new maps to be set.  Although the draft maps are just a draft, it is best to check them out so you can know what to expect.

There are two Flood Zones.  AE and VE

According to FEMA:

Zone AE: An area inundated by 1% annual chance flooding, for which Base Flood Elevations have been determined.

Zone VE: An area inundated by 1% annual chance flooding with velocity hazard (wave action) for which Base Flood Elevations have been determined.

We like to refer to Flood Zone VE  – as Very Expensive in terms of Flood insurance.   These zones tend to be near the open water.

On the New Flood Maps,  FEMA is introducing and area called, Coastal A Zones.  This is shown on the draft maps as a black line with little triangles.    This line is referred to as the Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA).

These areas are still considered AE however, FEMA is stating that these areas are more likely to experience higher wave action.  See image below.  

Since the Coastal A-Zones, are more likely to experience wave action, FEMA is recommending that these areas be built to VE Standards.  The city or county will have to adopt these recommendations. but it is highly likely that they will as they want the homeowners to obtain good insurance rates and maintain good CRS rating (Community Rating System)

Be on the look out, if your Flood Zone is changing from an AE Zone to a VE Zone, the cost of Flood Insurance is going to go up.

Flood Elevation – NEW Flood Maps

Not only are the Flood Zones changing, but also the Elevations. The new maps will be implementing FEMA’s new mapping standard called, NAVD88. With the new mapping standard, there is a difference in elevation of approximately one and a half feet.

Read Below from the Monroe County Website:

To account for this change, ON AVERAGE you should add +1.5 foot to any apparent increase. For example, if your building was in an AE-8 flood zone and is still shown in an AE-8 zone, then it actually experienced an increase of 1.5 feet. Another example, if your building was in an AE-6 flood zone and is proposed to be in an AE-9 zone, the increase appears to be three-feet.  However, the actual increase would be 4.5 feet.”

There are a lot of homes that are just above flood.  I am talking about 2-3 inches.  Once the new maps are implemented they will be, below flood.

New Construction Homes

I really have no idea why I keep seeing this happen. All over the Florida Keys, contractors are building ground-level homes that are above flood for today’s standards, but very shortly these homes will be below flood. The NEW maps will be put into place soon. If you are going to build NEW, consult with your contractor and make sure your home is above flood with the new standard! I know we all hate stairs, but going up just a little more is a whole lot easier than repairing an entire house. 

Additional Resources:

Monroe County Draft Maps 

FEMA