Am I in a flood zone?
Enter a ZIP code or city and state. We pull the FEMA flood-zone designation for that point and translate the code into plain English — with an honest read on what it means for a vehicle stored there.
Enter a ZIP code or city and state above. We'll pull the FEMA-designated flood zone for that location — and translate the code into what it means for a vehicle stored there.
What the codes mean.
Special Flood Hazard Area. 1% annual chance.
Coastal high-hazard. Wave action expected.
0.2% annual chance. The '500-year' floodplain.
Low FEMA-mapped risk. Not flood-proof.
Area has not been studied.
Flood-zone questions, answered.
What is a FEMA flood zone?
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A FEMA flood zone is a designation on the National Flood Hazard Layer that describes the mapped flood risk for a specific area. Zones starting with A or V are Special Flood Hazard Areas with a 1% or greater annual chance of flooding. Zone X is minimal mapped risk. Zone D means the area has not been studied.
What does flood zone AE mean?
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Zone AE is a Special Flood Hazard Area with a 1% annual chance of flooding (the '100-year floodplain') where a Base Flood Elevation has been determined. Any vehicle stored at ground level in Zone AE is at direct risk during a mapped flood event.
If I'm in Zone X, is my garage safe from flooding?
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No. Zone X means minimal FEMA-mapped risk — it does not mean flood-proof. Roughly 25% of flood insurance claims come from properties outside high-risk zones. Urban drainage failures, flash floods, and unmapped local flooding damage vehicles in Zone X every year.
How accurate are FEMA flood maps?
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FEMA flood maps are the U.S. legal standard but are widely acknowledged to under-represent current risk. Many maps are decades old, do not account for urban stormwater drainage capacity, and lag climate-driven changes in rainfall intensity. Treat a favorable FEMA zone as one input, not proof of safety.
Does auto insurance cover flood damage to my classic car?
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Only if the policy includes comprehensive (other-than-collision) coverage. Many stored or seasonal collector policies exclude or limit flood claims, and agreed-value payouts on total losses rarely reflect what an irreplaceable car is worth to its owner. Read the policy carefully.
What flood zone codes exist?
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High risk: A, AE, AH, AO, AR, A99, V, VE. Moderate risk: Shaded X (the 0.2% or '500-year' floodplain). Minimal mapped risk: Zone X. Undetermined: Zone D. Coastal V and VE zones face wave action in addition to still-water flooding.
Does this tool cover the entire United States?
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Yes for FEMA-mapped areas. The National Flood Hazard Layer covers nearly all of the U.S., but some rural and tribal areas have not been mapped — those return 'Not mapped', which is not the same as safe.
Does FloodVault help if I'm outside a mapped flood zone?
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Yes. FloodVault protects against water arriving from any source — storm surge, atmospheric river, flash flood, snowmelt, or urban drainage backup — regardless of the FEMA designation. The mapped zone is a planning input; the vault is the physical defense.
The vault doesn't care what the map says.
FEMA zones describe mapped risk. FloodVault protects against the water itself — from any source, in any zone.