Draft floodplain maps for Harris County have officially been released, marking a major milestone in the MAAPNext mapping effort. During today’s Harris County Commissioners Court meeting, Dr. Tina Petersen, Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District, emphasized that while the maps are early in the process, the community will have time, access, and opportunity to engage before anything becomes final.

“We recognize that this process is complicated and the community is ready to engage,” Dr. Petersen told Commissioners Court. “And while this process is very technical, it is also important that we make sure that our community knows what’s going on and that they have the opportunity to provide perspectives on their lived experience through this process.”

The draft products were released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to 34 floodplain administrators and local elected officials across Harris County. The maps are not final, not regulatory and not yet part of the formal public comment stage.

How the Flood Control District Is Involved

FEMA leads the regulatory process to update floodplain maps under the National Flood Insurance Program. The Flood Control District serves as FEMA’s cooperating technical partner, providing local data, engineering expertise and updated modeling.

Over the past several years, the Flood Control District has:

• Mapped more than 1,600 miles of channel
• Added approximately 400 miles of channel that had never been mapped before
• Incorporated updated rainfall data and topography
• Integrated completed and ongoing flood risk reduction projects

Dr. Petersen publicly thanked Planning Director Atul Hanan and his team for working “night and day, weekends, evenings and holidays” to help move the effort forward.

The Flood Control District will soon release a public friendly map viewer so residents can begin reviewing the draft information in an accessible format rather than relying solely on FEMA’s technical tools.

The push to modernize flood mapping began after three devastating storms which resulted in 500 year floods: the 2015 Memorial Day flood, the 2016 Tax Day flood, and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

During Hurricane Harvey, 68 percent of flooded structures in Harris County were outside the mapped 1 percent annual chance floodplain at the time. That gap between mapped risk and real-world flooding led to a countywide effort to improve data and modeling.

Better maps mean:

• More accurate flood risk information
• Better local planning decisions
• Clearer insurance requirements
• Stronger long term resilience

Dr. Petersen stressed that updated maps also show progress. FEMA’s modeling reflects the impact of bond-funded flood risk reduction projects already in the ground, while the Flood Control District continues maintenance and construction projects in an effort to pull residents out of floodplains.

Where We Are in the Process

The County is still in the early stages.

Right now:

• FEMA has released draft data to floodplain administrators and elected officials
• The maps are not final
• The maps are not regulatory
• The formal appeal and comment period has not yet begun

Looking ahead, FEMA’s standard regulatory timeline suggests there could be 21 to 33 months before final Flood Insurance Rate Maps become effective. That includes a formal appeal period, model revisions, and a Letter of Final Determination before maps are finalized.

While FEMA controls the regulatory schedule, the Flood Control District made clear that it intends to move quickly to educate residents and provide transparency throughout. Visit the Flood Control District MAAPnext website to learn about the draft maps and find information about when the public map viewer will be available, review your property’s flood risk information and stay informed about upcoming public meetings. Flood risk reduction is a long-term effort, and residents can sign up for updates at hcfcd.org to stay engaged throughout the process.