Flood Insurance Studies
To determine a community’s risk to flood hazards, FEMA performs an engineering study called a Flood Insurance Study (FIS). A FIS is a compilation and presentation of flood hazard areas along rivers, streams, coasts, and lakes within a community.
A FIS is based on different information, including:
- Historic information (such as riverflow, storm tide, and rainfall data)
- Meteorologic data
- Topographic data
- Hydrologic data
- Hydraulic data
- Open-space conditions
- Flood-control works
- Development
The results of the FIS are shown on FEMA’s flood maps called Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and in the accompanying description of the study called an FIS report. Effective FIS reports for each county can be found in the links below and also available through FEMA’s Map Service Center.