FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Map Updates

During the Fall of 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held a series of Community Coordination and Outreach (CCO) Meetings for the jurisdictions of Arlington County, Prince William County, City of Alexandria, City of Fairfax, City of Falls Church, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, Town of Dumfries, Town of Haymarket, Town of Occoquan and the Town of Quantico. 

The CCO Meetings are a part of the ongoing FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) mapping process for the jurisdictions and are designed to help individuals and communities understand their flood risk and make smart decisions. The FIRM maps are updated at least every five years to reflect the latest topographic information, improved hydrological modeling and changes to the resultant floodplains and hazard areas. 

In developing the effective floodplains, the data goes through three stages. 

1. The first stage is draft data, in which the earliest possible changes to the regulatory flood map are identified. 
2. Following the draft stage is preliminary data stage, which is for review and guidance purposes only, but closer to the final product. 
3. Finally, pending data is produced which reflects the upcoming changes after a letter of final determination has been issued. 

All of these jurisdictions are at the preliminary data stage and should now be contacting those individuals that have either been mapped in or mapped out of the hazard areas. Individuals will be able to appeal the new designations during the Appeal Process scheduled to end the Summer of 2021.

To view the individual preliminary maps a mapping tool named "Changes Since Last FIRM" can be accessed at https://arcg.is/1L4fXW. This viewer describes the changes to the one percent annual chance floodplains designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) during a map update. The Changes Since Last FIRM (CSLF) coverage allows local community officials to use advanced mapping capabilities to view and analyze their community with a new perspective.

Additional data can also be obtained by visiting FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center: https://hazards.fema.gov/femaportal/prelimdownload/.