Jackson County, MO Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Jackson County has substantial flood exposure across multiple watersheds: the Missouri River along the northern border, the Blue River system including the Big Blue (Little Blue) River and tributaries, and Brush Creek (a 10.5-mile tributary of the Blue River that runs through Country Club Plaza). The 1977 Brush Creek flash flood killed 19 people and devastated the Plaza district; the 1998 Brush Creek flood killed 12 people, including seven who died attempting to cross the flooded Prospect Avenue bridge. Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) administers the NFIP for all Missouri communities. Jackson County's UDC defines a floodplain as the channel and adjoining lands of a natural river or stream that has been or may be inundated by floodwater identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a 100-year flood. The county charges a $50 floodplain development permit fee for activities in a Special Flood Hazard Area in unincorporated territory. The UDC includes a Sni-A-Bar Inundation Overlay District (SBI) addressing flood risk in the Sni-A-Bar Creek watershed in eastern Jackson County. Inside Kansas City, Missouri, Chapter 28 of the Code of Ordinances (Floodplain Management) governs all development in mapped FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, including freeboard requirements above Base Flood Elevation. Independence's floodplain management program addresses the Little Blue River Valley and creeks including Rock Creek, Spring Branch, and Adair Creek. Missouri's substantial-improvement threshold under NFIP minimums is 50% of the structure's pre-improvement market value — improvements at or above that threshold require the entire structure to meet current floodplain construction standards. Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for Jackson County are available through FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov.