Accomack County is a relatively flat area between two major bodies of water.  Large portions of the County consist of hydric soils or have a high water table that are poorly drained and subject to ponding.  Tides play a role in possible flooding.  Accomack is also subject to severe impacts from nor’easters, tropical storms and hurricanes). During these events and other periods of strong winds rainfall entering ditches and creeks can flood an area if a rising tide is pushing the water back up into creeks. This combination of flat terrain, climate, coastal location, and tides creates large areas subject to flood risk.  

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created to provide a way for property owners to financially protect their interests in flood prone areas.  The NFIP offers flood insurance to property owners, businesses, and renters in areas that participate in the NFIP.  The Federal Emergency Management Area (FEMA) has delineated Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) within Accomack County through the issuance of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) which show areas considered to have higher chance of flooding as well as the type of flooding.  The County has incorporated these maps into the Zoning Ordinance to ensure the protection of people and property.  These maps are occasionally updated.  The most recent maps for Accomack County were issued May 18, 2015.

Flood Map Determinations:

The Department of Planning & Community Development provides Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) determinations for properties on request for the unincorporated portions of Accomack County.  For those within incorporated towns, please check with your local town office.

Please come into the office, at 23282 Courthouse Avenue in Accomac (next door to the County Administration Building), or call the office at 757.787.5797 or 757.824.5324.

In order to make a determination, please have as much of the following information available as possible: 

• Name of property owner
• Tax map number for property in question
• 911 address for property in question. 

We also make this information available on AccoMap - Accomack County's Online Mapping Service. To access the free site, click the link, read the disclaimer information, check the box acknowledging you have read the disclaimer, and press the "Enter Free Site" box. Search and locate your property. 

Once you are on the map, look for “FEMA FLOOD DATA” and “CURRENT FLOOD DATA” under the Map Layers on the left hand side of the page.  Make sure the boxes next to them are checked as shown in the screen shot below.  Once those boxes are checked you can check on or off other boxes to obtain additional information such as Special Flood Hazard Area (Flood Zone Designation such as AE or VE and Base Flood Elevation), FIRM Panel (The FIood Insurance Rate Map Number), Areas of Moderate Wave Action (Areas within an AE Zone where flood elevations includes wave heights between 1.5 and 3 feet), Coastal Barrier Resources System (areas where FEMA flood insurance is unavailable), and Letters of Map Amendment (Areas where FEMA has a determined a property or structure shown on the FIRM as being in the SFHA is actually outside of the SFHA). 

Note:  AccoMap users may need to turn on or off different layers showing on the map or use the transparency bar under the map layers to make some of the data more visible for the user.

Additional information is available both from County Offices and AccoMap such as presence of wetlands, areas for natural function protection such as the Resource Protection Area.  Additional information is also available from the Flood Program Manager in the Department of Planning and Community Development such as Repetitive Loss Areas and possible flood depth information within the SFHA.