Floodplain Management

The City of Memphis is a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Memphis (community number 470177) has been a member of the program since December 1, 1982. Although FEMA administers the program, the regulations are locally enforced by the City of Memphis.

*Note: this page is about flood zones established under the NFIP and is primarily due to riverine flooding (caused by Nonconnah Creek, the Wolf/Loosahatchie Rivers, and backwater from the Mississippi River) and not due to localized stormwater drainage concerns:

CONTACTS:

Any questions regarding Memphis’ involvement in the National Flood Insurance Program can be directed to the Division of Engineering’s Civil Design Bureau at 901-636-6700.

If you are currently experiencing life-threatening flooding, regardless of cause, call 911.
Blocked inlet or other maintenance concern? Please contact the Division of Public Works, Drain Maintenance Department.
Questions regarding the Mississippi River floodwall, levee, and pump stations? Please contact the Division of Public Works, Environmental Engineering Department Flood Control Emergency Section.
Questions regarding stormwater quality management, such as pollution in the stormwater drainage system or erosion prevention/sediment control? Please contact the Memphis Stormwater Program.

MAPPING:

To view the National Flood Hazard Layer, displaying FEMA floodplain data, feel free to view our Drainage Masterplan Study web viewer. This can be utilized as a quick reference to view flood zones in the city and does not serve as the official record of flood zones in the City.
To view an official copy of your Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), visit FEMA’s Map Service Center at http://msc.fema.gov. Type in your address in the search bar and follow the instructions
- You can also view other current and historical FEMA products under the same link, by clicking on “Search All Products,” then on the next page Selecting “Tennessee > Shelby > Memphis City Of” under the list of drop-down boxes

REGULATIONS:

Development in floodplains is locally regulated by the Memphis/Shelby County Unified Development Code (the “UDC”). To access the latest version of the UDC on the Develop901 website, click here.

PERMIT APPLICATIONS:

All development within the regulatory floodplain requires a Floodplain Development Permit. The City utilizes the Develop901 Citizen Access Portal for permittting
- Please click here for the link to this portal.
- Click on the “Engineering Permits” tab (you may need to log in with your portal credentials)
- Under “Record Type,” click on “Engineering” and then click on “Floodplain Development Permit”

USEFUL LINKS

For more information regarding the NFIP, please see the links below: