Santa Barbara, California Flood Zones
Santa Barbara faces coastal flooding, creek flooding from the Santa Ynez Mountains, and devastating debris flows from wildfire burn scars. The 2018 Montecito debris flow demonstrated the catastrophic potential of post-fire flooding.
Common Flood Zones in Santa Barbara
Properties in Santa Barbara, CA are commonly designated in these FEMA flood zones:
Check Your Santa Barbara Address
Enter any Santa Barbara, CA address to instantly see its FEMA flood zone, risk level, and whether flood insurance is required.
Free Flood Zone LookupWhat Your Flood Zone Means in Santa Barbara
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to every property in the United States based on flood risk assessments. In Santa Barbara, the most common designations are Zone AE, Zone VE, Zone AO, Zone X.
Properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) - zones starting with A or V - are required to carry flood insurance if they have a federally-backed mortgage. Properties in Zone X are outside the SFHA and flood insurance is typically optional but often recommended.
Flood zone designations can change over time through Letters of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letters of Map Revision (LOMR). Use our free lookup tool to check the current flood zone for any Santa Barbara address.