What You Should Know

The project is a collaborative effort among the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, county and local governments, and technical experts from the private sector and research institutions.  The study is being performed as part of FEMA’s Flood Map Modernization effort. 

You may view the Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps for each county on the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Web site.

The new flood maps provide more detailed, reliable, and current flood hazard data in digital format.  Knowing a more up-to-date picture of a community’s flood risk will allow community officials and citizens to make more informed decisions on where to build and to what height above the ground new building should be constructed. 

Compared to the existing flood maps, which are be up to 25 years old, the flood risk may be higher—or lower—than some residents or business owners thought.  The new flood maps reflect current flood hazards as a result of an in-depth, large-scale study that re-examined the flood hazards in Mississippi’s coastal counties. 

To explain the choices that exist for those that disagree with the outcome of the restudy, we have created a page on the map change options. 

How You Should Use the New Flood Maps

Once the new flood maps are adopted by communities, they will be used for flood insurance and development purposes.  However, even before the preliminary flood maps are adopted, we encourage you to view the preliminary maps so that you can see how the flood hazards have changed since the last effective flood map was issued. 

You also may want to view the preliminary flood maps to help you make more informed decisions about where to buy property or where to construct a new building.  Also, a property may be mapped from a low-risk area to a high-risk area (known as a Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) on the new flood maps.  If so, and flood insurance is purchased before the new maps become effective, it could result in a lower insurance premium.  This process is known as “grandfathering,” and significant cost savings could be realized—if you purchase flood insurance before the maps take effect.    The NFIP Web site has an Information Sheet on grandfathering that you can download. 

When the Preliminary DFIRMs become effective, they will also supersede (for flood insurance and floodplain management purposes), the current effective FIRMs.  The DFIRMs also will replace the Katrina Flood Recovery Maps that FEMA produced in November 2005 to help State and local officials, as well as homeowners, identify flood hazards and to start the recovery and redevelopment effort.

Steps You Can Take

You can take steps to reduce your losses in the event of a flood by building outside of a high-risk area or by elevating your structure above the based flood elevation.  FEMA’s Web site has a page dedicated to tips on how to rebuild smarter and stronger and on Hurricane Katrina best practices.

FEMA has developed a Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction Technical Fact Sheet Series (FEMA 499) that provides technical guidance and recommendations concerning the construction of coastal residential buildings.

FEMA also has developed a series of useful NFIP-related documents related to the rebuilding effort.

You also can protect yourself financially by purchasing flood insurance offered through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

More Information

If you need more information or have a question, several options are available:

• You may find your answer in the Frequently Asked Questions.
• The Resources page contains fact sheets, brochures, and other helpful documents.
• You can view the videos that FEMA and the State of Mississippi produced to explain the coastal analysis.
• The Links section contains other sources related to Map Modernization, the NFIP, and Mississippi study production information.
• A call center has been specifically set up for the Mississippi Coastal Mapping Project in Biloxi.  You can reach an operator from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1-866-816-2804. 
• You can contact the FEMA Map Assistance Center for more technical questions and information about the National Flood Insurance Program.
• If you do not find the information you need, you can also contact a Map Specialist on the Ask the Experts page.