Last summer I opened an interactive disaster map when smoke started appearing on the horizon and the local emergency alert system sent an ambiguous notification about a wildfire 12 miles away. Within a few minutes I could see the fire’s location, the wind direction overlaid on the map, which roads had been flagged as evacuation routes, and which roads ran directly toward the fire’s projected path. That information turned a vague “there might be a problem” into a concrete picture of how much time I had and which direction to move. Preparation like that does not happen during an emergency — it happens before one.
The Disaster Map is designed to give you that kind of situational awareness for your specific location. Here is how to use it.
Step 1 — Enter Your Location
Open the Disaster Map and start by searching for your home address or the nearest city. Zoom in until you are looking at your neighborhood level. The map layers are most useful at the local scale — regional views show broad risk areas, but you need street-level detail to plan evacuation routes and identify your specific flood zone or fire risk zone.
Step 2 — Explore the Disaster Layers
The map has multiple toggleable layers representing different hazard types. Activate the ones relevant to your region:
Flood Zones: FEMA flood zone designations show which areas are in the 100-year floodplain (Zone A and AE — high risk) versus the 500-year floodplain (Zone X — moderate risk). If your home is in Zone AE, you are in a federally designated high-risk flood area. Insurance and preparation requirements apply.
Earthquake Risk: Active fault lines and seismic hazard zones. Useful for both structural prep and understanding ground shaking likelihood during a major event.
Wildfire Risk: Vegetation density, topography, and historical fire occurrence combine to show your community’s wildfire risk level. Important for urban-wildland interface residents.
Hurricane Tracks: Historical hurricane paths and current storm surge zone boundaries. Essential for coastal residents determining evacuation triggers and timing.
Tornado Corridors: Frequency data for tornado occurrence by county. Not a prediction tool, but a historical pattern indicator that helps contextualize risk.
Step 3 — Read Your Risk Levels
Each layer uses a color scale from green (low risk) through yellow and orange to red (severe risk). Hovering over or clicking a zone typically provides additional detail — specific FEMA designations, historical event frequency, or soil type for earthquake hazard assessments.
Do not just look at your home’s exact pin. Understand the pattern around it. A house one block outside a flood zone still has neighbors who flood, and high water can affect your road access even if your structure is dry.
Pro Tip
Take screenshots of the key risk layers for your neighborhood and save them offline — as a phone photo, a printed page, or both. During an actual emergency, cellular networks slow down and internet access may be unavailable. Having your risk map and evacuation route documented offline means you can reference it when connectivity is gone.
Step 4 — Plan Multiple Evacuation Routes
With the risk layers visible, map two or three evacuation routes from your home. Your routes should:
- Avoid roads that pass through flood zones, wildfire risk areas, or known storm surge zones
- Include at least one route that does not use highway or freeway (these clog instantly during mass evacuations)
- Have a clear destination — a designated shelter, an out-of-region address, a high-ground location
Test these routes by driving them when conditions are normal. Note any bridges, low-lying areas, or single-lane roads that could become problems.
Using the Map for Ongoing Preparedness
The disaster map is most valuable when you use it proactively — before a threat appears — to understand your risk profile and pre-plan your response. Once an emergency is active, map data may be outdated and your decision-making time is compressed.
For building the full emergency response plan that the map feeds into, the Family Emergency Evacuation Plan guide covers how to structure household decision-making and trigger points for leaving versus sheltering. The Emergency Communication Plan covers how to stay connected with household members and out-of-area contacts when local communications are overwhelmed.
Know your risks before they become incidents.