Informed communities are resilient communities. With MAAPnext, FEMA and the Flood Control District are transforming how we understand and manage Harris County’s floodplains. Using the most current data and techniques, MAAPnext gives us the tools we need to protect life and property against flooding.
Engineers are able to utilize an integrated system of software to simulate real world conditions in our region’s bayous, streams, and channels. These simulations are completed using hydrologic and hydraulic, or H&H, models. These models predict how precipitation will impact the landscape with estimates of how deep the water will get at different locations under different weather conditions and how frequently this water depth is likely to occur.
Harris County residents and business have been responding to flooding since the early 1900s. Our approach and infrastructure have evolved signficantly since the turn of the century, and MAAPnext represents a step from our past into a future of better flood risk understanding.
Most of the flooding is in areas developed prior to the current understanding of flood potential and prior to regulations restricting construction in flood-prone areas.
Since the 1980s, flood insurance has eased the financial impact of flooding.
Despite tremendous flood damage reduction projects that have reduced the risk of flooding, more flood insurance claims have been paid in Harris County than in any other National Flood Insurance Program-participating community.
In Harris County, the cost of not having flood insurance is often far more expensive than the cost of annual flood insurance premiums. Just one inch of water inside a structure can cause thousands of dollars in damages.
This applies to mortgages backed by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or Veterans Affairs (VA) loans. However, mortgage lenders also have the authority to require flood insurance for structures outside high-risk flood areas.
Some insurance plans will cover minor damage from rain, but if your home fills with water as a result of rising creeks, bayous, or another body of water, you will not be covered.
This includes those who live or do business in Houston, unincorporated Harris County or any of the other 33 municipalities in Harris County. Flood insurance rates are set by the federal government and depend on several factors. The primary factor that determines the insurance premium is a structures flooding risk as shown on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, Flood Insurance Rate Map, known as a FIRM. FIRMs change frequently, so please visit msc.fema.gov to create a current map, or contact your insurance agent.
Everyone lives in a flood zone
You don't need to live near water to be flooded
Floods are caused by storms, hurricanes, and water backup due to inadequate or overloaded drainage systems, dam or levee failure, etc.
