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Data updated October 22, 2026

Data updated October 22, 2026

FEMA flood zones explained

A flood zone is the label FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map gives an area. Zones starting with A or V form the Special Flood Hazard Area, the land with a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any year, where flood insurance is mandatory for federally backed mortgages.

Every zone at a glance

Buildings counted on the current Miami-Dade maps

ZoneHigh-risk (SFHA)?Miami-Dade buildingsShareMost common in
Zone AE flood zoneYes99,26918%33139 Miami Beach
Zone VE flood zoneYes468under 1%33131 Miami
Zone A flood zoneYes1,513under 1%33034 Homestead
Zone AH flood zoneYes116,12121%33174 Miami
Zone AO flood zoneYes00%—
Zone X flood zone (unshaded)No301,09155%33145 Miami
Shaded Zone X flood zoneNo32,2836%33054 Opa Locka
Zone D flood zoneNo493under 1%33194 Miami

Building counts: FEMA/ORNL USA Structures (2025) on the effective National Flood Hazard Layer (July 2026 snapshot) across Miami-Dade's 80 ZIP code areas (78 with reports), about 551,600 buildings. New Miami-Dade maps take effect February 19, 2027.

  1. Zone AE flood zone: what it means for buyers and owners

    Zone AE is a Special Flood Hazard Area: land FEMA expects to flood in a 1% annual chance (100-year) flood, with a base flood elevation (BFE) shown on the map. A mortgage from a federally regulated or federally backed lender on a building in Zone AE requires flood insurance.

  2. Zone VE flood zone: coastal high hazard rules explained

    Zone VE is a coastal high hazard area: part of the Special Flood Hazard Area where a 1% annual chance flood comes with wave action, and where FEMA has set a base flood elevation. Flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages, and new buildings must stand on pilings or columns with open space below.

  3. Zone A flood zone: high risk without a base flood elevation

    Zone A is part of FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area: land with a 1% or greater annual chance of flooding where FEMA has not determined a base flood elevation. Flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages, just as in Zone AE.

  4. Zone AH flood zone: shallow ponding with a base flood elevation

    Zone AH is a Special Flood Hazard Area where the 1% annual chance flood is shallow, averaging 1 to 3 feet deep, usually as ponding, and where FEMA has set a base flood elevation. Flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages.

  5. Zone AO flood zone: sheet flow and flood depths explained

    Zone AO is a Special Flood Hazard Area where the 1% annual chance flood is shallow sheet flow, averaging 1 to 3 feet deep. The map shows a flood depth in feet above ground instead of a base flood elevation, and flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages.

  6. Zone X flood zone (unshaded): minimal hazard, not no hazard

    Unshaded Zone X, shown as Zone C on older maps, is land FEMA maps as an area of minimal flood hazard: outside the Special Flood Hazard Area and higher than the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) flood. Flood insurance is not federally required there, but floods and claims still occur.

  7. Shaded Zone X flood zone: the 0.2% annual chance floodplain

    Shaded Zone X, labeled Zone B on older maps, is FEMA's moderate flood hazard zone: mainly the land between the 1% and 0.2% annual chance (100-year and 500-year) floodplains. It is outside the Special Flood Hazard Area, so federal law does not require flood insurance there.

  8. Zone D flood zone: undetermined but possible flood hazard

    Zone D marks land where flood hazards are possible but undetermined because FEMA has not carried out a flood hazard analysis there. It is not part of the Special Flood Hazard Area, so federal law does not require flood insurance, but the zone says nothing about how high or low the actual risk is.