What does "low to moderate risk" mean?

• An area designated B represents areas between the 100-year and 500-year flood limits and base floodplains, or what FEMA calls "lesser hazards." This includes areas using levees to protect from the 100-year flood, areas prone to shallow flooding (less than 1 foot on average), and drainage areas less than 1 square mile. Because flood zone B experiences less frequent and/or less severe floods, its property owners are not required to buy flood insurance. They do have the option to buy it through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), if they live in a participating community.
  
  

What is a base flood elevation?

• Using detailed analysis and modeling, FEMA determines the base flood elevation (BFE), which is the predicted flood water elevation above mean sea level. Habitable areas of any new construction must begin above this level. For instance, a property in a B zone with a BFE of 2 feet would need the first habitable floor (generally, a floor with a bedroom) to be raised 2 feet or more.
  
  

Where do I find the maps?

• FEMA makes its Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) or Flood Hazard Boundary Maps freely available on its Map Service Center website. Your city's planning department will also have a floodplain map. The maps sometimes conflict with one another. If this occurs, compare the floodplain locations and the dates of the maps. Use the most current map.
  
  

Local requirements

• Your city or community may have additional restrictions to development or construction within the floodplain. These may be more strict than those set by the NFIP. Your city's planning department sets the zoning ordinances for flood zone B, as well as all other flood zones. The planning department inspects new construction or may require documentation that the structure adheres to NFIP minimum standards and the city's standards.
  
  

Legal Background

• The U.S. Congress created NFIP in 1968 when it passed the The National Flood Insurance Act. It created FEMA with the passage of the Federal Disaster Protection Act of 1973. NFIP's and FEMA's duties include creating and administering floodplain mapping, creating regulations and creating the flood insurance program. According to the 1968 Act, Congress passed the law following a series of floods and mudslides that caused significant loss of lives and property.