Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM)--Official map of a community issued by the Administrator, where the boundaries of the flood, mudslide (i.e., mudflow), and related erosion areas having special hazards have been designated.

Hard Copy Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM)--The most widely distributed flood map product is the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). Flood risk information presented on FIRMs is based on historic, meteorologic, hydrologic, and hydraulic data, as well as open-space conditions, flood control works, and development. To prepare FIRMs that illustrate the extent of flood hazard in a flood prone community, FEMA conducts engineering studies referred to as Flood Insurance Studies (FISs). Using information gathered in these studies, FEMA engineers and cartographers delineate Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) on FIRMs. SFHAs are those areas subject to inundation by a flood that has a 1-percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded during any given year. This type of flood is referred to as a base flood. A base flood has a 26-percent chance of occurring during a 30-year period ... the length of many mortgages. The base flood is a regulatory standard used by Federal agencies, and most states, to administer floodplain management programs, and is also used by the National Flood Insurance Program as the basis for insurance requirements nationwide.

FIRM Data
A variety of information can be found on FIRMs, including:

• Common physical features, such as major highways, secondary roads, lakes, railroads, streams, and other waterways
• Special Flood Hazard Areas
• Base (1 percent annual chance) flood elevations or depths
• Flood insurance risk zones
• Areas subject to inundation by the 0.2 percent annual chance flood
• Areas designated as regulatory floodways
• Undeveloped coastal barriers

FIRM Users
Hardcopy map products are distributed to a wide range of users. Private citizens, insurance agents, and brokers use FIRMs to locate properties and buildings and identify their risk to flood damage. Community officials use the products to administer floodplain management regulations and mitigate flood damage. Lending institutions and Federal agencies use the products to locate properties and buildings to determine whether flood insurance is required when making loans or providing grants for the purchase or construction of buildings.

Obtaining FIRMs
The FIRMs for your community should be available for review at your local community map repository site. Typically, this is your local planning, zoning, or engineering office. If you would like copies of FIRMs, they may be obtained from the Map Service Center. Because the Map Service Center maintains thousands of FIRMs, you will need to give the Center's personnel specific information about the map(s) you want to order. Please go to Order and Cost for detailed information on ordering FIRMs