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Ongoing Revision To Puerto Rico Flood Maps

Current Flood Insurance Rate Maps (“FIRMs”) for Puerto Rico, effective April 19, 2005, are being revised by FEMA. Updated flood studies have produced new data concerning base flood elevations, special flood hazard areas and floodway limits for the following rivers:

  • Rio Jacaguas
  • Rio Guayo
  • Rio Humacao
  • Quebrada Mariana
  • Rio Limones
  • Rio Guayanés
  • Rio Fajardo
  • Rio Pastillo
  • Rio Matilde
  • Quebrada Honda de Vega Alta
  • Rio Grande de Loiza and its principal tributaries:
    Rio Gurabo, Rio Valenciano, Rio Cagüitas, Rio Turabo and Rio Bairoa.
  • Rio Sabana
  • Rio Culebrinas
  • Rio Grande de Añasco
  • Rio Guanajibo
  • Quebrada Honda de Mayagüez
  • Quebrada Mabú
  • Quebrada Cambute
  • Rio Canas

FEMA will also revise Special Flood Hazard Areas for coastal regions. The PR Planning Board and FEMA will be announcing additional public hearings if they become necessary before the official effective date of these new FIRMs.

Flood Maps And Flood Insurance

With the release of the new maps, some property owners will learn that their risk is higher, or lower, than they thought. If you receive a letter from your lender or from local officials announcing a change in your flood risk status, the change may affect what you pay for flood insurance. Flood insurance is a federally underwritten program that can help you repair or replace your structure and belongings after a flood. The federal government requires mortgage holders in high-risk areas (SFHAs) to carry flood insurance. However, if you are mapped into a high-risk area, and already have flood insurance when the maps are officially adopted in 2009, your premium will stay at the current lower level when your policy renews.

If the map shows change from low or moderate flood risk to high risk

These requirements, options and savings apply Flood insurance is mandatory. Flood insurance will be federally required. Insurance costs may rise to reflect the true (high) risk. Grandfathering offers saving. The NFIP has “grand-father” rules to recognize policyholders who have built in compliance with the flood map or who maintain continuous coverage. Call our office to see how you can save.

If the map shows change from high or moderate risk flood risk to low risk

Flood insurance is optional, but recommended by FEMA. The risk is reduced, not removed. Flood insurance can still be obtained, and at lower rates. Twenty to 25 percent of all flood insurance claims come from low-to-moderate-risk areas. Conversion offers savings. An existing policy can be converted to a lower-cost Preferred Risk Policy for those properties that qualify.

No change in risk level

No change in insurance rates. FEMA reminds you that most homeowner insurance policies do not cover damages due to flooding. You may access Federal Flood Insurance.com for more information about ways you can save.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the National Flood Insurance Program?
  2. Is Flood Insurance Required by Law?
  3. What is SFHA and the "100-year Floodplain"?
  4. Should you buy flood insurance on property not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area?
  5. What are the different flood hazard zone designations and what do they mean?
What is the National Flood Insurance Program?

Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 as the government's response to the rising cost of taxpayer funded disaster relief for flood victims and the increasing amount of damage caused by floods. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) manages the NFIP and oversees the floodplain management and mapping components of the program.

Within participating communities, FEMA is responsible for determining the extent to which flooding might threaten any given area of land. Flooding threat classifications run from minimal to severe, in the case of areas located in "Special Flood Hazard Areas" (SFHA's).

Over 20,000 communities across the United States and its territories participate in the NFIP by adopting and enforcing floodplain management ordinances to reduce future flood damage. In exchange, the NFIP makes Federally backed flood insurance available to homeowners, renters, and business owners in these communities.

Flood damage is reduced by nearly $1 billion a year through partnerships with communities, the insurance industry, and the lending industry. Further, buildings constructed in compliance with NFIP building standards suffer approximately 80 percent less damage annually than those not built in compliance. And, every $3 paid in flood insurance claims saves $1 in disaster assistance payments.

Flood insurance claims and all operating expenses of the program are paid for through premiums. None of these costs are paid by taxpayers.

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Is Flood Insurance Required by Law?

In order to get secured financing to buy, build, or improve structures located in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA's) you will be required to purchase flood insurance. Federally regulated lenders are required by law to determine if the structure is located in a SFHA and must provide the buyer with written notice that flood insurance will be required. In other words, for properties located in Special Flood Hazard Areas, no flood insurance, no loan.

Structures located in SFHAs have a 26 percent chance of being flooded over the course of a 30-year mortgage. Conversely, the likelihood that a building will catch fire over the same 30-year period is about 4 percent. Consequently, a borrower seeking a mortgage on a structure in a SFHA is more likely to experience a flood at that structure than a fire over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

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What is SFHA and the "100-year Floodplain"?

The SFHA is also known as the 100-year floodplain. It is more precisely defined as the floodplain associated with a flood that has a 1-percent annual chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Therefore the SFHA is not a flood that happens once in a hundred years, rather, it is a flood that has a one percent chance of occurring every year. Thus, the 100-year flood could occur more than once in a relatively short period of time.

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Should you buy flood insurance on property not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area?

FEMA recommends it.

According to FEMA, all areas are susceptible to flooding, although to varying degrees, in fact, 25% of all flood claims occur in the low-to-moderate risk areas. Flooding can be caused by heavy rains, melting snow, by inadequate storm water drainage systems, failed protective devices such as levees and dams, as well as by tropical storms and hurricanes.

Whether your property is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area or not, flood insurance is available to any property owner located in any of the over 20,000 communities participating in the NFIP.

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What are the different flood hazard zone designations and what do they mean?
Zone A

Zone A is the flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to the 100-year floodplains that are determined in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) by approximate methods. Because detailed hydraulic analyses are not performed for such areas, no BFEs or depths are shown within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AE and A1-A30

Zones AE and A1-A30 are the flood insurance rate zones that correspond to the 100-year floodplains that are determined in the FIS by detailed methods. In most instances, BFEs derived from the detailed hydraulic analyses are shown at selected intervals within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AH

Zone AH is the flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to the areas of 100-year shallow flooding with a constant water-surface elevation (usually areas of ponding) where average depths are between 1 and 3 feet. The BFEs derived from the detailed hydraulic analyses are shown at selected intervals within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AO

Zone AO is the flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to the areas of 100-year shallow flooding (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain) where average depths are between 1 and 3 feet. The depth should be averaged along the cross section and then along the direction of flow to determine the extent of the zone. Average flood depths derived from the detailed hydraulic analyses are shown within this zone. In addition, alluvial fan flood hazards are shown as Zone AO on the FIRM. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone AR

Zone AR is the flood insurance rate zone used to depict areas protected from flood hazards by flood control structures, such as a levee, that are being restored. FEMA will consider using the Zone AR designation for a community if the flood protection system has been deemed restorable by a Federal agency in consultation with a local project sponsor; a minimum level of flood protection is still provided to the community by the system; and restoration of the flood protection system is scheduled to begin within a designated time period and in accordance with a progress plan negotiated between the community and FEMA. Mandatory purchase requirements for flood insurance will apply in Zone AR, but the rate will not exceed the rate for unnumbered A zones if the structure is built in compliance with Zone AR floodplain management regulations.

For floodplain management in Zone AR areas, elevation is not required for improvements to existing structures. However, for new construction, the structure must be elevated (or floodproofed for non-residential structures) such that the lowest floor, including basement, is a maximum of 3 feet above the highest adjacent existing grade if the depth of the base flood elevation (BFE) does not exceed 5 feet at the proposed development site. For infill sites, rehabilitation of existing structures, or redevelopment of previously developed areas, there is a 3 foot elevation requirement regardless of the depth of the BFE at the project site.

The Zone AR designation will be removed and the restored flood control system shown as providing protection from the 1% annual chance flood on the NFIP map upon completion of the restoration project and submittal of all the necessary data to FEMA.

Zone A99

Zone A99 is the flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to areas of the 100-year floodplains that will be protected by a Federal flood protection system where construction has reached specified statutory milestones. No BFEs or depths are shown within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone D

The Zone D designation on NFIP maps is used for areas where there are possible but undetermined flood hazards. In areas designated as Zone D, no analysis of flood hazards has been conducted. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements do not apply, but coverage is available. The flood insurance rates for properties in Zone D are commensurate with the uncertainty of the flood risk

Zone V

Zone V is the flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to the 100-year coastal floodplains that have additional hazards associated with storm waves. Because approximate hydraulic analyses are performed for such areas, no BFEs are shown within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zone VE

Zone VE is the flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to the 100-year coastal floodplains that have additional hazards associated with storm waves. BFEs derived from the detailed hydraulic analyses are shown at selected intervals within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.

Zones B, C, and X

Zones B, C, and X are the flood insurance rate zones that correspond to areas outside the 100-year floodplains, areas of 100-year sheet flow flooding where average depths are less than 1 foot, areas of 100-year stream flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than 1 square mile, or areas protected from the 100-year flood by levees. No BFEs or depths are shown within this zone.

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