FEMA Floodplain
The FEMA flood data was provided to the Town of Bedford by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The information displayed on this map is for reference purposes only. The Town of Bedford does not guarantee the accuracy of this data. Users are responsible for determining the suitability for their own individual needs.
Any question about FEMA flood data should be addressed to:
All other information is from the Town of Bedford's Geographical Information System (GIS) database. Any questions or concerns regarding the Town of Bedford's information should be addressed to the Bedford GIS Analyst.
One of FEMA's jobs is to perform flood studies, and data generated by these studies comes in two parts: The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Studies (FIS). The output from the FIS shows the elevations at which bodies of water are predicted to rise to in any given storm event. The FIRMs show these elevations as certain boundaries, known as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA).
These FIRMs are the basis for floodplain management, mitigation, and insurance activities of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Therefore the SFHAs shown on the FIRM are the starting point for the flood insurance rates that NFIP offers.
With the revision of the FIRMs in 2010, GIS shapefiles of the data are now available to the public. This means that communities can overlay FEMA's flood data with their own land base (such as buildings, roads, and parcels). Overlaying these two data sets provides an easier way to locate SFHAs for a given property, and also to view the flood data on a larger scale. However, it's important to note that the presentation of any FEMA data (such as the GIS flood plain data) anywhere other than on the FIRMs are for reference purposes only.