Blog · October 14, 2026 · Massachusetts
Using the Beverly Flood Zone Map
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near Danvers.
Main page: Essex County, MA GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Weighing a property around Marblehead? The Beverly flood zone map tells you whether it sits in a FEMA flood zone, and it costs nothing to check. This Beverly guide covers: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and pairing it with the MassGIS Interactive Property Map.
Where the Beverly flood zone map lives
Start with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: type an address near Swampscott, then open the map view for that panel. Vacant ground around Swampscott is still easy to locate: pan from the closest town and click the spot.
Where the parcel data lives
Lots and tracts near Peabody appear on the MassGIS Interactive Property Map, free to use and open without a login. For a home near Essex, put in a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the matching parcel lights up. Closer to Marblehead, the record panel typically gives the owner of record, acreage on the tax roll, a parcel ID and sometimes recent sales.
Beverly, MA: the basics
Beverly is part of Essex County, Massachusetts, so its parcels are on the county's map. For a home near Marblehead, the municipality handles matters such as zoning, permits and utilities inside its limits, and the county still keeps the parcel and deed records. Acreage past the city limits near Danvers often falls under county rules, not municipal ones.
Questions to ask before you buy
Ask the listing agent about past flood claims on the property near Swampscott; getting a quote early avoids surprises.
Deeds, plats and who keeps them
When the details count, get the recorded deed from the Registry of Deeds; the parcel map near Marblehead only summarizes it. Long-held tracts around Peabody can sit on several deeds, and a title company earns its fee on a real sale.
Which office to call
For assessment questions about property around Swampscott belong with the town assessor, the office behind the parcel record. Building or septic questions for a lot near Danvers go to planning, building or health offices, depending on whether the land is inside town limits.
Low spots and local drainage
Creeks and ditches near Essex aren't always studied in detail, so walk the land after rain. Marshy spots near Marblehead can limit building too; check the National Wetlands Inventory mapper for a first look.
Reading the legal description
Tracts outside towns near Marblehead commonly use metes-and-bounds descriptions, which trace the boundary call by call. Platted lots around Salem refer to a recorded plat, making them easier to find. Copy the legal description from the record for the parcel near Swampscott for any title or survey request.
Taking the map into the field
Most viewers work in a phone browser, handy when you're parked on a road near Peabody, but coverage can be spotty out of town. A printout of the tract near Danvers helps when you meet an owner or agent.
Neighboring parcel maps
Essex County borders Middlesex County, Suffolk County, Hillsborough County, NH, and Rockingham County, NH; every one of them runs a separate parcel map. Acreage along the edge near Essex may be split in two county records, so check the adjacent map before you assume the acreage. With a lot near Swampscott, the Platbookmapper state page links every neighboring county map across Massachusetts.
What the zone letters mean
An AE label comes with a base flood elevation, which plain A zones lack; surveyors near Danvers use that number. If you're looking near Peabody, a shaded X area marks moderate flood hazard, roughly the 100- to 500-year range; plain X, or C on older maps, is minimal risk.
Parcel lines plus flood zones
FEMA's map shows zones but not ownership, so check the MassGIS Interactive Property Map too to see exactly which lot near Peabody you're looking at.
A quick look at the area
Salem is the county seat, where most land records are kept. Smaller places on the map include Marblehead, Danvers, and Peabody, each with its own cluster of lots. About 810,089 people live in Essex County (Census estimate, 2023) across some 493 square miles. Essex County dates to 1643, and some chains of title near Salem are long. Features like National Park Service are easy to spot when you zoom out from Essex.
Lenders and permits
For a structure inside an A or V zone and a federally regulated lender is involved, the lender will require flood insurance in communities in the NFIP, which applies near Marblehead as much as anywhere. New construction in a floodplain near Essex usually means extra permit review; check with the county or town building office before you plan.
Questions about the Beverly flood zone map
How often are flood maps updated in Beverly?
For most people, a new study can move a zone line near Swampscott, so look at the panel date.
Does the county parcel map show flood zones near Marblehead?
For most people, a flood layer may appear in the MassGIS Interactive Property Map layer list; confirm a lot near Swampscott on FEMA's map either way.
Will my lender require flood insurance near Swampscott?
Usually, for a building near Swampscott in an A or V zone with a federally backed or regulated mortgage, it's generally required; outside those zones it's your call.
Do I need to worry about flooding in Zone X around Marblehead?
Good question; Zone X near Swampscott means moderate (shaded) or minimal (unshaded) mapped risk, and floods still happen outside high-risk zones.
Who keeps deeds for property in Beverly?
For land near Peabody, assessment goes to the town assessor and deeds to the Registry of Deeds, while zoning questions go to planning
Open the official Essex County, MA parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.