Flood Maps, Hazard Tools & Permit Guides — All in One Library
Every free tool a Texas property owner needs before buying, building, or permitting: official FEMA flood maps, hazard assessment resources, jurisdiction-specific permit guides, and plain-English explanations from licensed Professional Engineers.
Guides that answer the questions owners ask first
Interactive guides built by our engineering team — each one walks you through a specific question about your property, with the official sources behind every answer.
Before You Build in Texas, Check It with ALFAP TX.
Review preliminary property, jurisdiction, permit, flood zone, drainage, windstorm and engineering considerations before you buy, design or build.
ALFAP TX — Texas Property & Permit CheckFind out if your land is in a FEMA flood zone — before you buy or build
A step-by-step guide to typing your address into FEMA's official flood map and reading the result — what zones AE, X, and VE mean, when flood insurance is required, and when you need an engineer's floodplain determination.
FEMA Flood Zone Search GuideCheck the wind, wildfire, earthquake, and drought risks for your property
Our engineers walk you through FEMA's National Risk Index, the ASCE Hazard Tool, TxWRAP, and NOAA viewers so you can identify every natural hazard that affects your site — and what it means for design.
Hazard Assessment Tools GuideSee exactly which permits and documents your city or county requires
Pick your Texas jurisdiction and residential or commercial — the finder lists the commonly required permits, PE-stamped documents, and official application forms for your project location.
Guided Permit FinderIdentify the responsible permitting authority for your project address
ETJs, extra-territorial jurisdictions, and county vs. city boundaries confuse many owners. This tool tells you which authority reviews your plans, its process, and its contact information.
Smart Permit AssistantSearch drainage manuals, design standards, and official permit forms
A searchable library of 160+ verified government resources — stormwater forms, infrastructure design manuals, building codes, and checklists published by Texas cities, counties, and state agencies.
Permit & Engineering Resource SearchFEMA flood map lookup tools
Official FEMA and local government tools for checking flood zone status, flood map changes, and base flood elevations by address.
Look up your official flood zone on FEMA's map by address
The official national FEMA flood map. Enter any U.S. address to see your property's FIRM panel, flood zone designation, and map effective date. Free and updated as maps are revised.
FEMA Flood Map Service Center (MSC)View all effective FEMA flood hazard data in one interactive map
An interactive FEMA map layer showing effective flood zones, LOMA/LOMR boundaries, base flood elevations, and floodway limits nationwide — the data engineers use for floodplain determinations.
FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) ViewerCheck if FEMA recently changed your property's flood zone
Shows physical map revisions and Letters of Map Amendment/Revision — important if your property was moved into or out of a Special Flood Hazard Area, which changes insurance and build requirements.
FEMA Flood Map Changes ViewerSee Harris County flood zones, watersheds, and rainfall data
The Harris County Flood Control District's official local mapping tool with FEMA flood zones, watershed boundaries, and real-time rainfall gage data for the greater Houston area.
Harris County Flood Education & Mapping ToolHazard assessment and environmental risk map tools
Government and professional-society tools for identifying wind, wildfire, seismic, coastal, and drought hazards at any Texas location.
Compare your county's risk for 18 natural hazards
FEMA's official dataset rating every U.S. county for hurricane, tornado, hail, strong wind, earthquake, wildfire, drought, flooding, and more — based on expected annual loss and community resilience.
FEMA National Risk IndexGet your site's design wind speed and seismic parameters by address
The official ASCE 7 hazard lookup used by engineers: enter an address for the design wind speed, tornado speed, seismic coefficients, snow, and ice loads that govern your structure's design.
ASCE Hazard ToolCheck your neighborhood's wildfire risk and defensible space
Texas A&M Forest Service's free tool for searching your address and viewing wildfire risk, burn probability, and prevention resources — essential for Hill Country and wildland-interface properties.
Texas Wildfire Risk Portal (TxWRAP)View projected sea level rise on the Texas Gulf Coast
NOAA's coastal viewer showing projected sea level rise, inundation frequency, and marsh migration — relevant for coastal, bay-side, and low-lying Gulf Coast properties.
NOAA Sea Level Rise ViewerCheck earthquake activity and fault zones near your site
The official USGS earthquake map with real-time quake activity, fault data, and seismic design considerations — including induced-seismicity zones in West Texas and the DFW area.
USGS Earthquake Hazards ProgramTrack drought conditions that affect Texas soils and foundations
The official weekly drought intensity map by county — drought cycles shrink expansive clay soils, the leading cause of foundation movement across Texas.
U.S. Drought MonitorGuides, articles, and case studies from our library
Go beyond the maps — our engineers publish checklists, explainers, and real project stories so you know what each requirement means in practice.
Get direct answers to flood, wind, drainage, and permit questions
Answer-first explanations of the questions owners actually search — ASCE wind speed by address, FEMA flood zone and BFE, TDI catastrophe areas, detention sizing, SWPPP, MUD districts, and COMcheck — each linked to the official source.
Engineering Questions HubRead plain-English guides to drainage, permits, and foundations
Checklists, permit guides, timelines, and terminology guides written by our engineers for Texas owners and developers.
Engineering Resource CenterLearn how Texas engineering and permitting rules work in practice
In-depth articles on stormwater rules, detention design, floodplain development, and permit strategy from real Texas projects.
Engineering Insights BlogSee how we solved real engineering challenges across Texas
Verified case studies of civil, structural, drainage, and inspection projects in Houston, Katy, and across the state.
Project Case StudiesQuestions this library answers
How can I check if my Texas property is in a FEMA flood zone for free?
Use FEMA's free Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov/portal/home) and type your full address — the map shows your official flood zone, such as AE or X. Our flood zone search guide walks you through it step by step, and our engineers can professionally verify the floodplain boundary and Base Flood Elevation when it matters for a purchase or build.
Where can I find hazard maps — wind, wildfire, and earthquake — for my Texas property?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates every Texas county for 18 natural hazards, the ASCE Hazard Tool gives site-specific design wind and seismic parameters by address, and the Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal maps wildfire risk. We link and explain all of these in our hazard assessment tools guide.
How do I find out what permits and documents my Texas project needs?
Use our Guided Permit Finder: pick your city or county and residential or commercial, and you'll see the commonly required documents, engineering requirements, and official forms for that jurisdiction. Our Smart Permit Assistant also identifies the responsible permitting authority and its review process.