Commercial property adjacent to the DuBois mall and Platt Road. This 45+ acre parcel is located Just past the mall. The property is zoned Commercial so the possibilities are endless. Flood Zone AE is considered a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). These are areas where local communities must enforce specific floodplain management rules and where certain property owners are required to purchase flood insurance.1 Properties in this zone have at least a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.2

While this is often called a 100-year flood, this does not mean a flood only happens once every century. Instead, the term describes a flood event that has a 1% probability of occurring or being exceeded in any single year.3

Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) are established for properties within Flood Zone AE.4 A BFE is the regulatory water surface height that floodwaters are modeled to reach during a flood event that has a 1% annual chance of occurring.5 This elevation serves as a benchmark for local officials to set requirements for building elevation and flood-proofing, which directly influences the cost of flood insurance premiums.