FEMA Releases New Draft Flood Maps for Harris County and Houston
2/12/26 – FEMA has released new draft flood maps for Harris County and Houston. Houston spills over the county line in some places, including near Kingwood. And the new maps show floodplains where the City limits exceed the County’s.
The new maps reflect Atlas 14 data acquired after Harvey. The old maps use data acquired after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 and were released in 2007. So, the new ones reflect the current best available data.
But understand several things about the new maps. While they are important, they aren’t final yet. And they’re visually confusing compared to previous maps. But help is on the way. See more below.
Important Background
These maps reflect changing conditions in Harris County, including a more than 30% increase in rainfall rates, updated topography and advanced modeling.
After major storms between 2015 and 2017, including Hurricane Harvey, it became clear that existing floodplain maps were not fully reflecting flood risk.
Thousands of families flooded outside of mapped high-risk areas. Updated maps help residents, businesses, emergency managers, and local governments better understand risk and make more informed decisions.
Not Yet Final
Emily Woodell, a spokesperson for Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) emphasized, “It is important to emphasize that, at this stage, these are DRAFT maps from FEMA intended for technical review by floodplain administrators. They are not final, not regulatory, and not part of FEMA’s formal public appeal and comment process.”
“Nothing changes right now related to flood insurance requirements or development regulations.”
Emily Woodell, HCFCD Spokesperson
It will take another year or two to finalize the new maps. They must go through several stages of comment and revision, each with different names.
After floodplain managers comment on the “DRAFT” maps, FEMA will make revisions and release “PRELIMINARY” flood maps for the general public. The public (including developers) will then have a chance to comment or protest. But at that stage, FEMA will require an engineering study before making changes.
After making revisions from the public comment period, FEMA will release “EFFECTIVE” flood maps, aka, the new gold standard for flood risk. That’s what flood insurance will be based on.
FEMA’s DRAFT Map Visually Confusing
FEMA’s new flood maps are visually confusing at this time – especially if you’re used to the old flood maps. Unfortunately, FEMA uses one viewer for the entire country – cities and rural areas alike. The viewer may work well for some areas, but not for Harris County with its thickets of tree-lined, winding streets.
To see FEMA’s new maps, click here.
Some hints:
- In the left column at the bottom, select “Draft Database for Community Review.”
- From the base map gallery, select “Street View.”
- Click the magnifying glass and enter your address or area of interest. You can also scroll to your location.
- You may have to zoom in to display the floodplains. Use the +/- keys in the lower right.
- The map doesn’t work on cell phones. You must use a desktop or laptop.
You can compare the new and old maps by toggling between the “Draft Database Maps for Community Review” and the “Effective Flood Hazard” Maps. The Effective Maps are the current ones. Draft Maps will eventually replace them.
Compared to the old multi-colored maps, these are monochromatic. Different zones are represented by shades and dots, not colors.
- No dots means you’re outside of any defined flood zone.
- A light colored area with dots (inside the first line) means “500-year flood plain/.2% annual chance.”
- The darker colored area with dots (inside a second line) means you’re in the “100-year floodplain/1% annual chance.”
The news maps are amazingly detailed. And that’s part of what makes them confusing. Instead of a line cutting through a neighborhood or farm, these maps outline flood zones just a foot or two wide. For instance, although my house and yard are above the 500-year floodplain, my drainage ditch is in it. But only part of the ditch!
More User-Friendly HCFCD Versions of Maps
Woodell said, “We recognize these maps can be difficult to navigate. To make FEMA’s information more accessible, the Flood Control District is launching a more user-friendly online map viewer that displays the same draft data in a clearer, easier-to-understand format.”
HCFCD Director Dr. Tina Petersen announced in Commissioners Court today, that Flood Control is posting the maps for public review this afternoon, instead of next week as previously announced..
The more user-friendly DRAFT maps can also be found here on the MAAPnext site. They even include a slider that lets you compare the currently EFFECTIVE maps developed after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 with the new DRAFT maps based on data collected after Harvey.
“We will also host informational webinars and continue working closely with floodplain administrators, local partners, and community stakeholders to help residents understand what this means and what comes next,” she said.
DRAFT FEMA Maps Reflect Mitigation Progress
According to Woodell, the draft FEMA maps reflect much of the mitigation progress already made since Harvey.
They reflect the benefits of flood-mitigation projects completed or under construction through 2020. And early results show areas where flood risk has decreased because of those investments. That includes projects made possible through the 2018 Bond Program. It also includes the detention basins that Perry Homes eventually added to Woodridge Village before selling their property to Harris County Flood Control. Elm Grove and Mills Branch floodplains shrank considerably.
“That means in some neighborhoods, families who once faced repeated flooding are now seeing measurable reductions in risk,” said Woodell. “There is more work to do, but we know these projects are making a difference.”
HCFCD expects to bid four new projects, for instance, after Commissioners Court today. One of them is in Kingwood. See item 250: Woodridge Village/Taylor Gully.
Impact of New Maps on Development
The new maps will eventually raise the bar for developers such as Romerica and Ron Holley. Some areas formerly classified as floodplain are now classified as floodway. All of Holley’s property on the East Fork is now floodway. Similarly, the floodway expanded in the property Signorelli is trying to develop as The Crossing at the Commons of Lake Houston.
You may see a rush to develop floodplain properties as FEMA moves toward finalizing the new EFFECTIVE flood maps, which should take two to three years. So stay alert.
The new DRAFT maps can also be used by home buyers to check the flood risk of properties they are considering.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/12/2026
3089 Days since Harvey
