Flood zone AR: what it means for your home and insurance
Behind a flood-control system (such as a levee) that FEMA decertified and that is being restored to protect against the base flood.
Free property report with the FEMA flood zone plus wildfire, wind, earthquake and landslide risk. Open the full address analyzer.
What zone AR means
Zone AR covers areas that were protected by a flood-control system — usually a levee — that FEMA no longer credits with providing base flood protection, while that system is being restored. Until the restoration is complete, the area is treated as having a temporarily increased flood risk.
AR is part of the Special Flood Hazard Area. Some areas show a dual designation such as AR/AE or AR/AO, meaning the area would still be a high-risk zone even after the system is restored.
FEMA calls the flood with a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year the "base flood" (often called the 100-year flood). A 1% chance each year adds up: over 30 years it works out to roughly a 26% chance of at least one such flood.
Insurance in zone AR
This is a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Under federal law, if you have a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender — or a loan backed by FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac — on a building in an SFHA in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the lender must require flood insurance. Your lender or a licensed agent can confirm what your loan requires.
Standard homeowners policies exclude flood damage. Flood coverage is bought separately, either through the NFIP or from a private flood insurer.
Once the flood-control system is restored and FEMA re-accredits it, the map may be revised. Your community floodplain administrator can tell you the status of the restoration.
Reducing flood risk
- Ask your community about the status and timeline of the levee or flood-control restoration.
- Know your evacuation route: levees reduce flood risk but do not eliminate it.
- Get an Elevation Certificate so you know how your lowest floor compares to the base flood elevation.
- Raise furnaces, water heaters, electrical panels and HVAC equipment above expected flood levels.
- Use flood-resistant materials (tile, concrete, closed-cell insulation) below the base flood elevation.
- Install a backflow valve so floodwater cannot push sewage back into the house.
- Grade soil away from the foundation and keep gutters, downspouts and drains clear.
Your community’s floodplain administrator can tell you which building requirements apply locally.
Zone AR questions
- What does flood zone AR mean?
- Zone AR is an area behind a flood-control system, usually a levee, that FEMA decertified and that is being restored to provide protection against the 1% annual chance flood. It is part of the Special Flood Hazard Area.
- Is flood insurance required in zone AR?
- Yes for federally regulated or backed mortgages in participating communities: AR is part of the Special Flood Hazard Area. Your lender or a licensed agent can confirm.
Check the flood zone for any address
We look up the address in FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer and show the zone alongside the rest of the property’s risk profile.
Free property report with the FEMA flood zone plus wildfire, wind, earthquake and landslide risk. Open the full address analyzer.
Other flood zones
All FEMA flood zonesThis page is general education about FEMA flood zone designations, not insurance or legal advice and not an offer of coverage. Zone definitions come from FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps; maps change, and the official map for any property is on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Your lender or a licensed agent can confirm the flood insurance requirements for a specific home.