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name: flood-zone-lookup description: Use when the user mentions flood zone, flood risk, FEMA, SFHA, floodplain, property due diligence, natural hazard disclosure, flood insurance, base flood elevation, or asks whether a property is in a flood zone. version: 1.0.0

Flood Zone Lookup

Query FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer to determine the flood zone designation for any US street address.

When to Use

• User asks about flood risk for a property
• User is doing property due diligence and needs hazard info
• User mentions FEMA, SFHA, flood insurance, or floodplain
• User wants to know if a property needs flood insurance

How to Use

1. Get the street address from the user (ask if not provided)
2. Call the query_flood_zone tool with the full address (include city, state, zip)
3. Interpret results using the guide below

Interpreting Results

Field	Meaning
zone	FEMA flood zone code (e.g. AE, X, VE)
zoneName	Plain English description of the zone
sfha	true = Special Flood Hazard Area (federally regulated)
riskLevel	high, moderate, or minimal
bfe	Base Flood Elevation in feet (only for zones with BFE data)

Risk Level Guidance

• High (SFHA zones: A, AE, AH, AO, AR, A99, V, VE): Mandatory flood insurance if federally-backed mortgage. Located in the 100-year floodplain (1% annual chance of flooding). Coastal V/VE zones have additional wave action hazard.
• Moderate (X Shaded, B, D): 500-year floodplain or undetermined. Insurance not required but recommended. Preferred Risk policies are typically cheaper.
• Minimal (X, C): Outside mapped flood areas. Lowest risk. Insurance optional but available.

Key Talking Points

• SFHA = mandatory flood insurance for federally-backed mortgages (FHA, VA, conventional with Fannie/Freddie)
• Zone AE is the most common high-risk zone — it means FEMA has mapped the base flood elevation
• Zone X is the most common minimal-risk zone
• FEMA maps are updated periodically — check the map effective date for currency
• Even minimal-risk zones can flood (25% of flood claims come from low-risk areas)