FEMA flood zone rules in Flint, MI — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
The Flint River runs through the center of Flint and creates significant FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) downtown, near Carriage Town, along Thread Creek, and Gilkey Creek tributaries. Properties in Zones A and AE must comply with Michigan EGLE floodplain rules under Part 31 and federal NFIP standards.
Flint participates in the National Flood Insurance Program through FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for Genesee County. The Flint River cuts east-to-west through downtown and includes the Hamilton Dam impoundment, with Special Flood Hazard Areas along the river and tributaries including Thread Creek, Gilkey Creek, Swartz Creek, and Kearsley Creek. Michigan implements floodplain regulation under Part 31 of NREPA (MCL 324.3101+), which requires an EGLE floodplain permit for construction, fill, grading, or substantial improvement in the 100-year floodplain. Local enforcement is shared between EGLE Water Resources Division and the city building department. The Flint River is gauged at USGS 04148500 and has caused major flood events historically, including the September 1986 flood and the federally studied flood-mitigation alternatives reviewed by FEMA.
Building, filling, or substantially improving structures in an SFHA without an EGLE floodplain permit violates Part 31. EGLE can issue cease-and-desist orders and seek civil penalties; FEMA can suspend Flint from the NFIP, ending federally backed flood insurance citywide.
Flint, MI
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See how Flint's flood zones rules stack up against other locations.
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