Flood Insurance Rate Maps Online

Flood insurance rate maps can now be ordered online through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s electronic Map Service Center at https://www.fema.gov/msc.

“FEMA’s new online Map Service Center makes it easy for customers to identify and place orders immediately for flood map panels they want, a process that used to take days,” said Margaret Lawless, FEMA’s acting executive director for mitigation.

Business customers will be able to check the status of flood map orders online, and the service soon will be available for homeowners, government agencies and other groups as well.

Flood maps are checked every time a home is sold to determine whether it is in an area at high risk of flooding and whether flood insurance will be required by the mortgage lender. Flood map panels cost about $1 apiece, plus shipping.

The new electronic Map Service Center is part of FEMA’s map modernization effort and overall effort to build a state-of-the-art digital distribution center for flood maps and related products, Lawless added.