Protecting the resident’s safety is a high priority for Hillsborough County Government.
Anywhere it rains it can flood. A heavy afternoon downpour can turn into a life-threatening and
financially devastating flood in the blink of an eye. Hurricanes and tropical storms increase the
danger from flooding.
Therefore, the County is encouraging all property owners in Hillsborough County to understand
their risk for flooding and to purchase flood insurance. Remember, homeowner’s insurance
does not cover water damage from flooding. Only flood insurance covers water damage to
your property from a flood or storm surge.
Most people know that properties near the Gulf of Mexico or Tampa Bay need flood insurance
due to their elevated risk for storm surge flooding. As a matter of fact, flood insurance is
required by mortgage lenders for most of these property owners.
Hillsborough County has worked hard on your behalf to reduce those rates by adopting
proactive floodplain management requirements to reduce flood risk across the county. This
approach has earned residents a flood insurance discounts of 25 percent.
Hillsborough County understands that insurance is a complicated topic. Don’t let a flood wipe
away everything you’ve worked so hard for. Get flood insurance.
Find out your flood risk. Hillsborough County offers a free flood map information service so that
you can find out if your property is in a high, moderate, or low risk flood zone or a floodway,
and what your hurricane evacuation zone is. Remember flood zones and evacuation zones are
different! This webpage will let you look up the flood zone your property is in.
https://arcg.is/0HD5G10
The following webpage will locate the evacuation zone and provide other good information for
hurricane preparedness.
https://bit.ly/3BPaZ6Q
You can also see if you live near protected areas that have natural floodplain functions, like
wetlands, swamps or mangrove stands. These areas store flood waters or buffer wave action
while providing habitat for wildlife and cleaning the flood water.
Additionally, part of the Community Rating System program is to partner with you to reach your
organization and membership through providing this information to your homeowners. Your
assistance in having this information provided to your membership is greatly appreciated. If
you or the residents have additional questions or would like to speak with someone about
floodplain management topics, please contact us at [email protected].
Thank you for your consideration and help with informing our community.
Sincerely,
Christina Hummel, AICP
CRS Coordinator