The primary source of floodplain mapping information in Michigan is the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), which are developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Of the 1,776 communities (cities, villages, and townships) in Michigan, currently about 1,004 communities have floodplain maps that have been developed by FEMA. Check the community status book from FEMA to identify which communities which have a floodplain map developed under the National Flood Insurance Program.

FEMA is also in the process of developing digital flood insurance rate maps (DFIRM).  Check out FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. The FEMA Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for flood hazard information produced in support of the National Flood Insurance Program. Use the service center to find your official flood map, access a range of other flood hazard products, and take advantage of tools for better understanding flood risk.

NOTE: FEMA flood maps are continually updated through a variety of processes. Effective information that you download or print from this site may change or become superseded by new maps over time.

Learn more about FEMA's Flood Maps and how these tools are used by communities to know which areas have the highest risk of flooding.

Site-specific questions

For site specific questions, the Water Resources Division will provide an estimated 100-year flood elevation.  To make such an estimate, the District floodplain engineer will need:

• a map (preferably with a property description) showing the location of the property
• an estimate as to how high the property is above the water level of the river, lake or stream, and
• how far the building site is away from the water

There is no charge for this service, however, depending on workload, the determination may take 4 to 8 weeks.  Please refer to the MiEnviro Floodplain Service Request guidance for more information.

How to start a floodplain service request