Flooding is a growing concern in Massachusetts, especially if you live in coastal areas where storms and climate change have larger impacts.
The Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking Flood Zone Mapping Tool makes it really easy to see if your home, business or community is in a flood zone.
Start by typing in your address and the map will zoom in on your location.
Now, two flood layers will show up right away. These are FEMA flood zone layers that map risk of coastal flooding and flooding from major lakes, rivers, and streams. They do not include all areas that may flood.
Green areas are 100-year flood zones, meaning, there’s a 1 in 100 chance of flooding in that area every year.
Orange areas are the 500-year flood zones, where there’s a 1 in 500 chance of flooding each year.
You can view additional information by clicking on this menu bar and selecting the first icon labeled “Layers”.
The first of these is the Available Flood Zone Data layer. Toggle this on to see which parts of the state have digital flood mapping, which don’t, and which only exist on paper.
The next layer shows Hurricane Evacuation Zones. This shows the areas officials will evacuate in the event of a storm surge. Zone A is most at risk and evacuated first. Zone B is next, and Zone C last, in the event of an extremely severe surge.
The next layer, Major Highways, shows which highways run through flood zones, which can help you think about your best route in case of an evacuation. In the event of an evacuation, please listen to local emergency management.
Next is the Political Boundaries layer. Toggle this on and you’ll see outlines of cities and towns. Click to see exactly which community you’re looking at. This layer is mostly for reference.
Moving on to the Residential Land in a Flood Zone layer, which shows communities most exposed to flooding. The larger and darker the circle, the higher the percentage of residential areas within 100 and 500-year flood zones, giving you a good sense of community-level risk.
And finally, we have the Sea Level Rise layer. This shows the projected rise of sea levels from 1 to 6 feet. Homebuyers might want to consider flooding when purchasing or renting a home in one of these areas, especially as climate change increases the risk of these levels.
For more information you can check your town website which may have more information on local flooding.
And there you go; that’s the basics of the Flood Zone Mapping tool. Explore it for yourself and stay better prepared.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, complete our feedback survey or email us at: DPH-MA-EPHT@mass.gov.