Blog · October 17, 2026 · Mississippi
Using the Florence Flood Zone Map
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near Brandon.
Main page: Rankin County, MS GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
Platbookmapper is an Amazon Associate. If you buy through an Amazon link on this page, we earn a commission. The link is a product, not the county map.
Before you buy or build near Richland, check the Florence flood zone map: a mapped flood zone changes insurance, building rules and resale. This Florence guide covers: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and matching it with the county parcel viewer.
Where the Florence flood zone map lives
Flood zones come from FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: search an address around Richland, and pick the FIRMette or map view. A tract near Pelahatchie without an address is still easy to locate: pan from the closest town and click inside the land.
The viewer Rankin County publishes
Your first stop is the Rankin County parcel viewer; it maps every assessed parcel in the county, Richland included. Out toward Pelahatchie, put in a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the matching parcel lights up. For a tract near Flowood, the record panel normally shows the owner of record, assessed acreage, a parcel ID and sometimes recent sales.
Getting your bearings
Brandon is the county seat, home to the main records offices. Other places on the map include Richland, Pearl, and Flowood, each with its own cluster of lots. About 160,417 people call Rankin County home (Census Bureau estimate, 2023) across about 775 square miles. For a home near Jackson, Rankin County was organized in 1828, which matters when you trace an old farm's title.
Florence, MS: the basics
Florence is part of Rankin County, Mississippi, which means parcel data comes from the county. For a tract near Flowood, city or town hall handles matters such as zoning, permits and utilities inside its limits, while the county keeps the tax map. Acreage past the city limits toward Richland usually falls under county rules instead.
Land on the county line
For land near Brandon, Rankin County meets Copiah County, Hinds County, Madison County, Scott County, and Simpson County, and each of those keeps its own parcel map. Acreage along the edge near Pelahatchie can be split across two assessors' files, so look at the neighboring map as well. For land near Brandon, the Platbookmapper state page links every neighboring county map across Mississippi.
Taking the map into the field
The parcel map usually runs in a mobile browser, which helps when you're standing on land near Flowood, but coverage can be spotty out of town. A saved image of the lot near Flowood and its lines helps when you meet an owner or agent.
Reading the legal description
Mississippi is laid out under the Public Land Survey System, which means a tract near Pearl is described by section, township and range. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though corrections make some sections near Pearl odd-sized. Copy the legal description from the record for the parcel near Brandon before you request a deed or survey.
Zones on the Florence flood zone map
Zone AE comes with a base flood elevation, and an unnumbered A zone has none; that elevation drives building rules near Flowood. Near Richland, shaded Zone X marks moderate flood hazard, roughly the 100- to 500-year range; plain X, or C on older maps, is minimal risk.
Low spots and local drainage
Creeks and ditches near Pearl aren't always studied in detail, so look for water marks and debris lines. Marshy spots near Richland can limit building too; the National Wetlands Inventory mapper shows mapped wetlands.
Lining it up with the parcel map
FEMA doesn't draw property lines, so check the Rankin County parcel viewer too for the outline of the tract near Jackson.
Limits of the parcel data
Tax maps are drawn for assessment, not measured on the ground, so the edge of a yard near Brandon can sit a few yards off the line on screen. With a lot near Pelahatchie, records update in batches, so a deed recorded last month might lag behind.
Money questions tied to the zone
For acreage around Pelahatchie, get the Elevation Certificate if one exists: it records the building's elevation against the base flood. Remodeling a house in a zone near Pelahatchie often needs a floodplain permit; ask the local floodplain administrator early.
Questions to ask before you buy
Ask the listing agent about past flood claims for the house near Jackson; an insurance quote early keeps the budget honest.
Questions about the Florence flood zone map
What is a LOMA in Florence?
It depends, but you can ask FEMA for a LOMA if surveyed elevations show the building near Pearl is above the BFE; a surveyor's elevation data supports it.
What does an AE label mean for a lot near Pelahatchie?
It depends, but an AE zone has a 1% annual chance of flooding and a base flood elevation, so builders near Richland design to that elevation.
What is a base flood elevation near Pearl?
Good question; a BFE near Brandon tells builders how high the lowest floor should be; local rules may require building above it.
Is Zone X safe from flooding near Jackson?
Usually, Zone X near Pearl means moderate (shaded) or minimal (unshaded) mapped risk; many owners near Jackson buy coverage anyway.
Where do I ask about an assessment near Flowood?
For land near Pelahatchie, assessment goes to the County Tax Assessor and deeds to the Chancery Clerk.
Open the official Rankin County, MS 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.