FEMA is changing Palm Beach County flood maps. How to Know If You’re at High Risk

JUPITER — High-risk areas are moving west and Palm Beach County is expanding. Homeowners will be required to purchase flood insurance. in 2025 and beyond because of this.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released updated flood maps that will take effect Dec. 20, according to a FEMA spokesperson. The last time FEMA released new flood maps was seven years ago.

The City of Jupiter will host an open house style information session about the new flood maps from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Thursday, November 7th at the Jupiter Community Center.

FEMA has added more homes in high-risk flood zones to reflect the results of a new coastal engineering flood risk study in Southeast Florida covering Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The previous coastal engineering study was 40 years old, the spokesman said.

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New Palm Beach County maps have moved nearly 5,000 properties into a high-risk flood zone, also considered a “special flood hazard area,” from a low-to-moderate-risk flood zone. About 900 properties previously in high-risk flood zones have been downgraded, FEMA officials said.

What about flood insurance in Florida?

Homes in a National Flood Insurance Program community’s Special Flood Hazard Area are required to purchase flood insurance if they have a federally backed mortgage, according to a FEMA spokesperson.

Cassandra Randall (right) is hugged by Jessica Downey at Maddie's Grocery Store after Hurricane Helen flooded the location on September 27, 2024 in Steinhatchee, Florida. Randall's mother-in-law runs the store. — Cassandra Randall (right) is hugged by Jessica Downey at Maddie’s Grocery Store after Hurricane Helen flooded the location on September 27, 2024 in Steinhatchee, Florida. Randall’s mother-in-law runs the store.

Flood insurance prices vary widely, from a few hundred dollars a year for homes that are not in a floodplain to thousands of dollars for homes in vulnerable areas. FEMA and insurance attorneys say the cost of repairing homes and replacing property lost to flooding could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For example, the average premium value ranges from $724 for properties located between the Military Trail and the El Rio Canal in Boca Raton to an average of $1,377 for Delray Beach lots located between the Dixie Highway and the Atlantic Ocean, county records show .

To find out which flood zone your home is in, check this county map.

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Contact her at [email protected]. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared in the Palm Beach Post: Flood Insurance: FEMA Maps Change, High-Risk Areas Identified