Santa Clarita has many flood zones. Do you know your risk?

Floods. We hope we never have to deal with them, but they can be a risk for many neighborhoods in Santa Clarita. Remember the monsoon season where we had flooding throughout the Santa Clarita Valley a couple of years ago?

Knowing your flood risk can be an important step in buying a new home in the Santa Clarita area. Even if you’re not buying a home along a river or drainage area, you can still be at risk for flooding.

Flood insurance is generally mandatory for Federally-backed loans. According to FloodSmart.gov, if the property is not in a high-risk area, but instead in a low- to moderate-risk area, the law does not require flood insurance; however, it is recommended since historically about one-in-four flood claims come from these low- to moderate-risk areas. Note that if during the life of the loan the maps are revised and the property is now in the high-risk area, your lender will notify you that you must purchase flood insurance. If you do not purchase flood insurance, the lender will force place it, which could be at a much higher rate.

So how do you know the flood risk for a property? Visit FloodSmart.gov and click on "What’s Your Flood Risk?". You’ll be prompted to enter the address of the property you’re interested in, and it will return a short report with the property’s flood risk.

Here’s the report for our office as 23822 Valencia Blvd. in Valencia:

There are lots of reasons to be insured against flooding.

• Flooding is the #1 natural disaster.
• Flood damage is not covered by most homeowners insurance.
• 25% of flood claims are filed by people living in moderate-to-low risk areas.
• Disaster assistance — if it’s available — is usually a loan you must repay with interest

This property is located in a moderate to low risk flood area. Buildings in these zones could be flooded by severe, concentrated rainfall coupled with inadequate local drainage systems. Flood insurance for these zones is available in communities participating in the NFIP.

Be sure to ask your Santa Clarita Realtor to help you determine if a property may be at risk for floods. Certain inspections and disclosures are designed to help you identify your flood risk.

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