Know Your Zone

Know Your Zone is a public awareness initiative provided by The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District to encourage residents to find out what flood zone you live in and to do your research about flood insurance. If you are a home or business owner or a renter you should contact your insurance agent to see if you are covered by your current policy or if you need to buy flood insurance.

We have all seen the pictures of the Mississippi, Missouri and Meramec Rivers flowing over their banks after heavy rains in our area. You don’t have to live near a river or stream to deal with the costly expenses of overland flood damage. If you live in St. Louis city or county your home or business sits in a Flood Zone which tells you the level of likelihood your property will flood during severe storms and heavy rains. There are three zones, High, Medium and Low-risk areas. It’s important to know that any of these areas can experience flooding without warning costing you thousands of dollars in damage.

Did you know that everyone lives in a flood zone? FEMA rates every property as either high, medium, or low risk, but flooding can happen anywhere in St. Louis. Find out your risk using our interactive flood zone map.

• The flood risk in our region ranges from High to Moderate to Low.
• 20 percent of all flood insurance claims come from areas outside of high-risk flood zones.
• The average flood damage claim for homeowners and renters exceeds $35,000 in damages. Residents without insurance in low-risk flood zones receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding.
• Anywhere it can rain, it can flood. The St. Louis region is rich with water resources, with three large rivers bordering MSD’s service area.
• Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
• Overland flooding can occur during heavy rains. It can also occur in areas where there are no nearby waterways due to rain water being channeled via a natural floodway to distant waterways or nearby stormwater system.