About NFIP Maps

In support of the NFIP, FEMA has issued Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) for most NFIP participating communities in New Hampshire. FIRMs identify areas with a one percent annual chance flood hazard in a community. These areas are called Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA). The one percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood.

The flood hazards areas shown on FIRMs are based on the best information available at the time the maps were prepared. In some areas, the map will also show Base Flood Elevations and Regulatory Floodway boundaries.

Additional Information about NFIP Maps:

• To learn more about FEMA's mapping updates in New Hampshire, go to the Map Modernization/Risk Map Programs page.
• To find out what the current effective date is for a community's floodplain map or when a community was first issued a floodplain map by FEMA, go to FEMA's Community Status Book.
• To learn more about the above map terminology, go to the NFIP Map Terminology document.

Location of NFIP Maps

FEMA Map Service Center

• Current, Historic, and Future FEMA Floodplain Maps - Available for viewing, printing portions of the map (by creating a FIRMette), and purchasing digital copies of the maps. Paper copies are no longer available.
• Current FEMA Flood Insurance Studies - Available for viewing and purchasing digital copies of the studies. Paper copies are no longer available.
• Letter of Map Changes (LOMC) - Full size (8.5 x 11 in) pdf files of each LOMC (since 1997) available for viewing, download, and printing.
• Tutorials
  • A tutorial on how to find and print a flood map
  • A tutorial on how to read a FIRM are available
• Using the National Flood Hazard Layer Web Map Service in Google Earth™

NH GRANIT

• The Complex Systems Research Center (CSRC) at the University of New Hampshire is currently a FEMA Cooperating Technical Partner and the host of the state's geographic information system (GIS) clearinghouse.
• The following information is available from NH GRANIT for communities in the following counties and the date the maps became effective:
  
  

  Cheshire (effective 5/23/06)	Rockingham (effective 5/17/05)
  Grafton (effective 2/20/08)	Strafford (effective 5/17/05)
  Hillsborough (effective 9/25/09)	Sullivan (effective 5/23/06)
  Merrimack (effective 4/09/10)

• Current and Preliminary FEMA Floodplain Maps - Full size (36 x 24 in) pdf files of each map panel available for viewing, download, and printing to large scale plotter.
• Current and Preliminary Flood Insurance Study - Full size (8.5 x 11 in) pdf files of each study available for viewing, download, and printing.
• GIS Data - supporting the floodplain maps are available for download at: http://www.granit.unh.edu/data/search (theme keyword: flood)
• Printing Services- Print requests for paper copies of the effective floodplain maps are available for a small fee.

NH Office of Energy and Planning (OEP)

• OEP maintains a collection of all past and current NFIP maps and FISs for New Hampshire communities. We can usually provide copies of either the entire map or portions of the map at no charge. Please contact us for a map or study or to stop by to review the collection.

Vertical Datum

• Below is a summary of the vertical datum that is currently used on the floodplain maps in all counties in New Hampshire.

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29)

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1988 (NGVD 88)

• To learn more about the vertical datum used on the NFIP maps, please view the Vertical Datum document.
• To learn how to convert existing elevations from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88, please view the Guidelines document developed by FEMA.
• For information about locations in NH, please view the NHDOT Geodetic Control Datasheet

 Adobe Acrobat Reader format. You can download a free reader from Adobe.