The Cape Cod Commission recently created model Coastal Resilience Zone regulations. This viewer is part of a public outreach toolkit to assist towns in understanding, adopting, and implementing the model regulations. Please see the property flood risk map, design flood elevations map, and Coastal Resilience Zone map included in this application for additional information.

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.

"Non-Official" FIRM's for Cape Cod. These data represent a subset of the data available on the paper Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) as provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Q3 flood data were developed to support floodplain management and planning activities but do not replace the official paper FIRMs. These data are not suitable for engineering applications or site work nor can the data be used to determine absolute delineation of flood boundaries. Instead the data should be used to portray zones of uncertainty and possible risks associated with flooding.

Natural Areas are generally the region’s least developed and most sensitive areas. These identified areas comprise natural shoreline, barrier beaches, banks, and dunes, areas with highest habitat value and natural landscapes, undeveloped lands in wellhead protection areas, buffers to wetlands and vernal pools, and undeveloped areas subject to flooding. The vision for Natural Areas is to minimize adverse development impacts to sensitive resource areas, to preserve lands that define Cape Cod’s natural landscape and contribute to its scenic character, and to improve the Cape’s resilience to severe storms and the effects of climate change. Natural Areas are lands with the highest significance for resource protection or conservation and are appropriate for permanent protection through acquisition and conservation restriction or for transfer of development rights to less vulnerable areas.The Commission identified these areas by mapping BioMap Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscapes, vernal pools and the 350-foot buffer of vernal pools, protected open space, wetlands and the 100-foot buffer to wetlands, undeveloped lands in wellhead protection areas, and undeveloped lands in FEMA flood zones.