United States of America
Climate
An exceptionally wide range: cold northern regions, humid subtropical coasts, deserts, mountains and wet or dry Pacific areas. State, county, elevation and distance from the coast are more useful than a national climate label.
Geographic hazards
- Hurricanes, tornadoes & severe wind
Atlantic and Gulf coastal exposure differs from tornado-prone inland areas. Verify local design requirements, roof connections, opening protection and safe-room options where appropriate.
- Earthquakes
Western states and some central or eastern seismic zones need site-specific assessment. Check foundations, structural connections and local seismic rules.
- Floods, storm surge & landslides
Review local flood maps, drainage, shoreline elevation and hillside ground conditions. Understand insurance and access risks; a mapped boundary is not a guarantee against flooding.
- Wildfire, heat, snow & freezing
Wildland exposure, desert heat, roof snow loads and frost are all region-dependent. Choose envelope, landscaping and structural details for the local combination.
Insects and rot
Termite and other wood-destroying insect risks vary widely; ask a local inspector about the species and required prevention. Humid, rainy or leaking assemblies can decay, while carpenter ants and wood-boring beetles may also matter. Masonry walls do not protect roof timber or joinery from infestation.
Best-fit building approaches
- Engineered timber framing
A common, adaptable residential choice when engineered for local seismic, wind, snow and fire conditions. A maintained envelope and local pest measures are essential; cladding is not the same as the structural frame.
Read the timber guide - Engineered concrete & reinforced masonry
Can be a strong alternative for some hurricane, fire or other exposed settings when properly engineered and insulated. It is not automatically tornado-, flood- or earthquake-proof.
Read the concrete & block guide
Buyer checks
Check county/state hazard maps, local building code requirements and insurance availability.
Review permits, structural alterations and storm/seismic detailing.
Obtain a local pest inspection and evaluate moisture, insulation and site drainage.
Check a specific property
Print or save as PDF using your browser. Includes country guidance, official links and blank spaces for handwritten notes. No property details are saved.
These official resources help you ask better questions; they do not provide a parcel-level risk assessment. A map does not guarantee safety, and an unmapped or blank area does not mean no hazard. We do not assign automatic property risk scores.
- Collect the address, region/municipality, cadastral parcel reference and coordinates from the seller or surveyor. Check the map pin against the actual plot, not just the postcode or village centre.
- Open the relevant resource below. Where there is no address search, use coordinates, local landmarks or the named regional map sheet. Check the plot, access roads and evacuation routes.
- Read the legend, scale, publication date, model scenario and coverage. A “100-year” event is a probability scenario, not a promise of one event per century. Check current official warnings separately before visiting.
- Ask the responsible authority for the latest local study and restrictions. Give the findings to a qualified surveyor, structural/geotechnical engineer and insurer before relying on them in a purchase.
Initial resource research: 14 October 2026; individual review dates are below. External services may change or be temporarily unavailable; use the named authority if a viewer will not open. Links open in a new tab.
- Map portal
FEMA — Flood Map Service Center address search
Authority: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Hazards: Official mapped flood zones, including mapped coastal flood areas
Coverage: United States and territories; mapping availability varies by community.
How to locate the property: Enter the street address or coordinates, confirm the pin and review the effective map, date and map changes. Download a FIRMette and ask the local floodplain administrator about elevation and unmapped drainage.
Limits: Preliminary and effective maps are different. Not every community has modern digital data, and areas outside the special flood-hazard zone can flood. A zone is not a building vulnerability assessment.
Editorial review: 2026-10-14. Published edition [not-recorded]: Edition or layer dates were not recorded in the initial research; verify with the publisher. This is not a live status or property assessment.
- Map portal
NOAA/NHC — storm-surge scenario viewer
Authority: National Hurricane Center, NOAA
Hazards: Hurricane storm-surge inundation scenarios
Coverage: Mapped hurricane-prone U.S. coastlines and selected islands; check the viewer’s coverage.
How to locate the property: Open Interactive Map Viewer, zoom to the coastal community/coordinates and compare the available hurricane scenarios. Obtain the local emergency manager’s evacuation-zone map for the address.
Limits: These are potential surge scenarios, not a forecast, wind map or evacuation order. Leveed areas need local interpretation and evacuation zones are set locally; no-data areas are not safe areas.
Editorial review: 2026-10-14. Published edition [not-recorded]: Edition or layer dates were not recorded in the initial research; verify with the publisher. This is not a live status or property assessment.
- Map portal
California — Fire Hazard Severity Zones
Authority: CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Hazards: Long-term wildfire hazard zones
Coverage: California only; state/local responsibility areas and adoption status matter.
How to locate the property: Open the current viewer from the authority page, search the address and check the responsibility area, map date and local adoption. Confirm defensible-space and building requirements with the local fire authority.
Limits: Mapped hazard is not a property risk score and does not account for all building mitigation. California zones cannot be used for other states or as current incident warnings.
Editorial review: 2026-10-14. Published edition [not-recorded]: Edition or layer dates were not recorded in the initial research; verify with the publisher. This is not a live status or property assessment.
- Map portal
California — EQ Zapp earthquake hazard zones
Authority: California Geological Survey, Department of Conservation
Hazards: Fault rupture, liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides
Coverage: California; only areas evaluated/mapped by CGS.
How to locate the property: Launch EQ Zapp and type the address or locate the coordinates. Inspect each hazard layer and whether the area has been evaluated, then ask the city/county and geotechnical engineer about investigation requirements.
Limits: Unmapped/not-evaluated does not mean no hazard. These zones do not represent all earthquake shaking, rain-induced landslides or building performance; site studies may be required.
Editorial review: 2026-10-14. Published edition [not-recorded]: Edition or layer dates were not recorded in the initial research; verify with the publisher. This is not a live status or property assessment.
Confirm locally — including gaps in mapping
Outside California, request the state geological survey’s ground/seismic maps and state/local forestry or fire authority’s wildfire information. Ask city/county/tribal planning, floodplain and emergency-management offices for current local studies, coastal erosion and evacuation routes; no uniform national public parcel map covers all these hazards.