This cached tiled map service, hosted at MassGIS' ArcGIS Online site, represents FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) data currently available for Massachusetts. At scales 1:80,000 and closer, flood zone abbreviation labels appear (from the FLD_ZONE field). The National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) dataset represents the current effective flood risk data for those parts of the country where maps have been modernized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It is a compilation of effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) databases and any Letters of Map Revision (LOMR) that have been issued against those databases since their publication date. The NFHL is updated as new data reaches its designated effective date and becomes valid for regulatory use under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). See full metadata from MassGIS.

All data included in this layer are considered "final" by FEMA. Any preliminary data that appear on maps displayed at community meetings, etc., are not included here.

This map service includes data published by FEMA as of July 2, 2023.

To display a legend for this layer, add https://massgis.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8455678914e64b03b565b97d07577279 to your map along with this service

This layer is sourced from maps.coast.noaa.gov.

This map service presents spatial information developed as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management’s Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper. The purpose of the online mapping tool is to provide coastal managers, planners, and stakeholders a preliminary look at exposures to coastal flooding hazards. The Mapper is a screening-level tool that uses nationally consistent data sets and analyses. Data and maps provided can be used at several scales to help communities initiate resilience planning efforts. Currently the extent of the Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper covers U.S. coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. NOAA provides the information “as-is” and shall incur no responsibility or liability as to the completeness or accuracy of this information. NOAA assumes no responsibility arising from the use of this information. For additional information, please contact the NOAA Office for Coastal Management (coastal.info@noaa.gov).

© NOAA Office for Coastal Management

The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual- chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Spatial data is georeferenced to the earth surface using the Transverse Mercator projected coordinate system and the North American Datum of 1983. The specifications for the horizontal control of DFIRM data files are consistent with those required for mapping at a scale of 1:6000.

The National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) dataset represents the current effective flood risk data for those parts of the country where maps have been modernized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).Also see the Map Service and Tile service.

The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual- chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Spatial data is georeferenced to the earth surface using the Wisconsin Transverse Mercator projected coordinate system and the North American Datum of 1983. The specifications for the horizontal control of DFIRM data files are consistent with those required for mapping at a scale of 1:6000.

The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual- chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual- chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In addition to the preceding, required text, the Abstract should also describe the projection and coordinate system as well as a general statement about horizontal accuracy.

The FIRM Database is the digital, geospatial version of the flood hazard information (location and attributes for boundaries of flood insurance risk zones) shown on the published paper Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The FIRM Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The FIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published FIRMs, flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by FEMA.The FIRM is the basis for floodplain management, mitigation, and insurance activities for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Insurance applications include enforcement of the mandatory purchase requirement of the Flood Disaster Protection Act, which "... requires the purchase of flood insurance by property owners who are being assisted by Federal programs or by Federally supervised, regulated or insured agencies or institutions in the acquisition or improvement of land facilities located or to be located in identified areas having special flood hazards, " Section 2 (b) (4) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. In addition to the identification of Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), the risk zones shown on the FIRMs are the basis for the establishment of premium rates for flood coverage offered through the NFIP. The FIRM Database presents the flood risk information depicted on the FIRM in a digital format suitable for use in electronic mapping applications. The FIRM Database serves to archive the information collected during the Flood Risk Project.Informing Worcester is the City of Worcester's open data portal where interested parties can obtain public information at no cost.

Authority: Executive Order No. 149: FEMA and Flood Plain Use. Jurisdiction: Floodplains in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Applicability: Construction by state agencies must avoid floodplains. State-administered grant and loan programs must avoid supporting construction in flood plains, to the extent possible. Regulatory Designates the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR, formerly the Department of Environmental Management) as the state coordinating agency to implement the National Flood Insurance Program. Requires all state agencies, to the extent possible, to avoid construction, provision of loans or grants, conveying, or permitting projects in floodplains. Provides for Massachusetts participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. Review Process: Contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine if a proposed project is in a floodplain. Projects proposed in floodplains are reviewed in conjunction with Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (15), Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (17), and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (22) reviews. Technical assistance is also available from the DCR Flood Hazard Management Program. Forms: No additional forms for floodplain review. Fees No additional fees for floodplain review. Website: FEMA at http://store.msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1 DCR Flood Hazard Management Program at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/mitigate/.

The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual- chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Data layers in this child item include high-water mark and storm-sensor data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center following the January 4, 2018, and March 2-4, 2018, winter-storm events in New England. High-water marks and continuous water-level sensor data range from Portland, Maine, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, and reference the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). For more information about these storm events and the data collection, please see Bent, G.C., and Taylor, N.J., 2020, Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal areas of New England: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5048, 47 p., accessed June 3, 2021, at https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20205048 Flood-inundation map layers and interim products used to create them also are included in this child item. The USGS polygon of the stillwater-inundation map reflects a statistical storm with a 1-percent annual exceedance probability from Portland, Maine, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, based on coastal tide-gage data. The January and March 2018 inundation maps are polygon shapefiles of estimated flood extent derived from the high-water mark and storm-sensor data following the storm events. The flood extents and water-surface elevations were derived from simplified estimations of high-water mark and storm-sensor data and delineated using 2-meter-resolution lidar digital-elevation models. Interim data layers that were used to create the flood-inundation polygons include a coastal flood-profile line and coastal watershed boundaries. The compressed zip files contain ESRI shapefiles that include xml metadata files. Detailed processing steps are documented in the metadata for each layer. See the Scientific Investigation Report associated with this data release for more information.

NOAA Coastal Flood Exposure MapperThis online visualization tool supports communities that are assessing their coastal hazard risks and vulnerabilities. The tool creates a collection of user-defined maps that show the people, places, and natural resources exposed to coastal flooding. The maps can be saved, downloaded, or shared to communicate flood exposure and potential impacts. In addition, the tool provides guidance for using these maps to engage community members and stakeholders.

The National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) data incorporates all Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) databases published by theFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and any Letters Of Map Revision (LOMRs) that have been issued against those databases since their publication date.All data included in this layer are considered "final" by FEMA. Any preliminary data that appear on maps displayed at community meetings, etc., are not included here.The DFIRM Database is the digital, geospatial version of the flood hazard information (location and attributes for boundaries of flood insurance risk zones) shown on the published paper Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The NFHL data are derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by FEMA. The specifications for the horizontal control of DFIRM data are consistent with those required for mapping at a scale of 1:12,000.The FIRM is the basis for floodplain management, mitigation, and insurance activities for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Insurance applications include enforcement of the mandatory purchase requirement of the Flood Disaster Protection Act, which "... requires the purchase of flood insurance by property owners who are being assisted by Federal programs or by Federally supervised, regulated or insured agencies or institutions in the acquisition or improvement of land facilities" (Section 2 (b) (4) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973). In addition to the identification of Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), the risk zones shown on the FIRMs are the basis for the establishment of premium rates for flood coverage offered through the NFIP. The NFHL data present the flood risk information depicted on the FIRM in a digital format suitable for use in electronic mapping applications. The NFHL database is a subset of the information created for the FIS and serves as a means to archive a portion of the information collected during the FIS.

Effective (2017) and Preliminary (2023) FEMA Flood Zones for Arlington, MA and the changes between the data

The National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) is a geospatial database that contains current effective flood hazard data. FEMA provides the flood hazard data to support the National Flood Insurance Program. You can use the information to better understand your level of flood risk and type of flooding. The simplest way for you to access the flood hazard data, including the NFHL, is through FEMAs Map Service Center (MSC).If you want to explore the current digital effective flood hazard data in a map, the best tool to use is the NFHL Viewer. From the NFHL Viewer, you may view, download, and print flood maps for your location.The NFHL is made from effective flood maps and Letters of Map Change (LOMC) delivered to communities. NFHL digital data covers over 90 percent of the U.S. population. New and revised data is being added continuously. If you need information for areas not covered by the NFHL data, there may be other FEMA Flood Hazard Products and Services which provide coverage for those areas.A list of the types of data available in the NFHL and information about other ways to access the NFHL may be found in the NFHL GIS Services User Guide.If you need more information about individual tables in the NFHL, the FIRM Database Technical Reference, found at FEMA’s Technical References, includes those details.For step-by-step instructions on how to read a flood map, you may view the How to Read a Flood Insurance Rate Map Tutorial.For more information, please visit the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the total counts and percentage of population, land area, and impervious surface in the 1% Annual Chance Flood Hazard area or 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Hazard area of each block group. The flood hazard area is defined by the National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, www.fema.gov). This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

These data were created as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management's efforts to create an online mapping viewer called the Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer. It depicts potential sea level rise and its associated impacts on the nation's coastal areas. The purpose of the mapping viewer is to provide coastal managers and scientists with a preliminary look at sea level rise and coastal flooding impacts. The viewer is a screening-level tool that uses nationally consistent data sets and analyses. Data and maps provided can be used at several scales to help gauge trends and prioritize actions for different scenarios. The Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer may be accessed at: https://coast.noaa.gov/slr. This metadata record describes the Massachusetts digital elevation model (DEM), which is a part of a series of DEMs produced for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management's Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer described above. This DEM includes the best available lidar known to exist at the time of DEM creation that met project specifications. This DEM includes data for Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Norfolk Counties. The DEM was produced from the following lidar data sets: 1. 2013 - 2014 USGS Hurricane Sandy Supplemental for NE (RI, MA, NH) 2. 2011 USGS ARRA Lidar for the Northeast: Massachusetts The DEM is referenced vertically to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88, Geoid12B) with vertical units of meters and horizontally to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The resolution of the DEM is approximately 3 meters.

Overlay zoning districts are in addition to standard town zoning. The districts' boundaries and use limitations &/or development constraints are described in the town's zoning bylaw. The MVC generated these digital spatial boundaries based on the best GIS data available at the time of processing.

Some overlay zoning districts are also Districts of Critical Planning Concern. These are zoning districts established by the Martha's Vineyard Commission and adopted by the town at town meeting.

The boundaries are not survey-grade and are intended for planning purposes only.