Accessing On-Line Flood Insurance Rate Maps

Flood Insurance Rate Maps are now online. You can either pay $1.50 to download an entire map panel or print a portion of the panel (FIRMette) free of charge. A FIRMette is a legally acceptable representation of the FIRM. Printing and reading these instructions through carefully prior to beginning the process may save time and help to reduce errors.

To get to the site, follow these steps:

1. Go to www.fema.gov and click on More Audiences..(in the left hand margin), then click on Emergency Managers and Personnel, scroll down to Obtain Flood Maps, click on View Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS) OR go directly to http://store.msc.fema.gov

2. Click on Product Catalog near top of screen (you do not have to logon before continuing)

3. Click on FEMA Issued Flood Maps, then click Latest Available Flood Maps

Then select the:
1. State (click the down arrow to the right of the box to select state) (the screen will automatically refresh after you make each selection)
2. County (click the down arrow to the right of the box to select the county)
3. Community (click the down arrow to view the communities located in the selected county)
4. Click on Get FEMA issued Flood Maps

A list of available on line map panels should be displayed. If there are multiple map panels shown, the index panel is usually the first panel on the list. If there is only one panel displayed, it is likely that the index is contained within that one map file. Choose the index panel first (by clicking on the green View button next to it) to determine on which panel your site is located. After getting the panel number, you will need to minimize or close the index page. (Do this only if all the panels are not contained within one file.) This will then take you back to the list of panels.

Click the green View button next to the panel you want to display. There are buttons to the left of the image that will allow you to move around and zoom in or out if you are just going to view on line. If you select the "Make a FIRMette" button, you can manipulate the FIRM to select the portion of the map you want to print.

To design your FIRMette, follow instructions 1-3 which are shown to the left of the FIRM panel.

1. Select the appropriate paper size (recommend using the default size 8½ x 11)

2. Select & Move Areas

a. To select the area you wish to print, click and drag the pink box from the upper left corner to the desired area on the map.

b. You may adjust the scale & north arrow block or the title block by clicking on the appropriate button to the left of the map. Once you click on the button, the corresponding block will turn pink and you can then click and drag it. The areas shown in green will display on the FIRMette (on the approximate A Zone maps, the pink box must be dragged to cover the north arrow).

3. Create FIRMette by selecting Adobe PDF (recommended) or Image File
The FIRMette will then load and be displayed. Select Save Your FIRMette and save it to the hard drive with an appropriate file name. Once the file has been saved, the FIRMette can be printed.