Flood Statistics

• Flooding is the number 1 natural disaster.
• Flood damage is not covered by most homeowners insurance.
• 25% of flood claims are filed by people living in moderate to low risk areas.
• Disaster assistance, if it’s available, is usually a loan you must repay with interest.

At Risk Property

Many properties in Ozaukee County are located in a floodplain, an area prone to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has mapped areas of our county that are subject to flooding during a 1% or 100-Year Flood event.

Buildings located in these areas are required to have flood insurance as a condition of receiving a federally backed mortgage loan or home equity loan. The FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) can be accessed online and printed out as 'Firmettes' or you can visit the Ozaukee County PRLM site.

By entering your property address with Flood Smart, you can view your 'Flood Risk Profile'. You can also access several other interactive webpages, such as "Find your flood scenario" and "What will a flood cost you?".

Ozaukee County has a GIS-based 'interactive map site' that includes PLSS lines and property / floodplains boundaries overlain on aerial photographs for the entire county. Use the Parcel Search function to find your property, then use the layer display functions to activate the 'Ozaukee Floodplain' layer.

Ozaukee County has been selected as one of the first FEMA projects in Wisconsin to receive upgraded floodplain maps. This site contains draft copies of the upgraded floodplain mapping. Find the general location of your property on the maps to see if you are in a flood prone area.

When to Get Flood Insurance

If your property appears in a FEMA, designated flood zone, and you do not already have flood insurance, you should contact your insurance provider for more information.

If your property appears in an additional flood zone as designated by FEMA, your property is generally at a lesser risk and is most likely not required to have flood insurance, but flood insurance is available to you. You still may want to take some precautions.

If your property is not in a mapped flood prone area, there may be an undesignated risk, including localized flooding from stormwater ponding or storm drain overflow. Flood insurance, while not required, is still available to you, and there are precautions that you can take during storm events.