Blog · October 14, 2026 · Iowa
Reading the Fort Madison Flood Zone Map for a parcel
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near Montrose.
Main page: Lee County, IA GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Before you buy or build near Franklin, check the Fort Madison flood zone map: a mapped flood zone changes insurance, permits and resale. This Fort Madison guide covers: locating a parcel on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and pairing it with the Lee County Beacon site.
The Fort Madison flood zone map: start here
Start with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: type an address near Franklin, then open the map view for that panel. A tract near West Point without an address is still easy to locate: zoom in from US Route 218 and click the spot.
The free map to start with
Go first to the Lee County Beacon site; it includes each assessed parcel in the county, Donnellson included. For a home near Donnellson, put in a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the matching parcel lights up. For acreage around Donnellson, write down the parcel ID from that panel; each clerk in the county will want it.
Beyond the mapped zones
Creeks and ditches near West Point may not have detailed mapping, so ask neighbors about past flooding. Wet ground around St. Paul is a separate issue from flood zones; the National Wetlands Inventory mapper shows mapped wetlands.
A short flood checklist
Request about past flood claims for the house near Donnellson; getting a quote early avoids surprises.
How land is described here
Iowa follows the Public Land Survey System, so deeds around Donnellson reference sections and townships. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though real sections near Montrose vary in size. Keep the legal description for land near Montrose before you request a deed or survey.
Where Fort Madison fits in
Fort Madison sits in Lee County, Iowa, which means parcel data comes from the county. As the county seat, Fort Madison hosts the courthouse, so deeds and plats are filed in town. For a home near Franklin, city or town hall handles matters such as zoning, permits and utilities within town limits, while the county keeps the tax map. Acreage past the town limits near Montrose usually falls under county rules, not municipal ones.
Zones on the Fort Madison flood zone map
For property near St. Paul, zones beginning with A or V mark the Special Flood Hazard Area, meaning a 1% or greater chance of flooding each year. Out toward Donnellson, shaded Zone X is moderate risk, between the 1% and 0.2% annual chance floods; unshaded X is minimal risk.
Getting answers from the right desk
Deeds, mortgages and recorded plats for land near Donnellson come from the County Recorder, sometimes only in person. Building or septic questions for a lot near West Point are for the local planning and health departments, depending on whether the land is inside town limits.
Neighboring parcel maps
Lee County borders Hancock County, IL, Henderson County, IL, Des Moines County, Henry County, and Van Buren County, and each of those keeps its own parcel map. Acreage along the edge near West Point may be split across two assessors' files, so open the neighboring map as well. On ground around Montrose, the Platbookmapper state page links every bordering county map for Iowa.
A word on accuracy
Acreage on the record is a tax-roll number; only a licensed surveyor establishes the real lines on land around Donnellson. Closer to St. Paul, records update in batches, so a deed recorded last month might lag behind.
Use the county map alongside FEMA
FEMA's map shows zones but not ownership, so pair it with the Lee County Beacon site to see exactly which lot near Donnellson you're looking at.
Using it on a phone
Most viewers work in a phone browser, which helps when you're standing on land near Donnellson, though signal can drop in rural spots. A printout of the tract near Donnellson is a good backup.
Money questions tied to the zone
For a tract near Montrose, an Elevation Certificate from a surveyor helps: it can change the insurance price a lot. New construction in a floodplain near Donnellson can trigger elevation rules; call the permitting office before you plan.
Fort Madison: common questions
Do I need to worry about flooding in Zone X in Fort Madison?
For most people, Zone X near Franklin means moderate (shaded) or minimal (unshaded) mapped risk; FEMA notes that a large share of claims come from these areas.
Is AE a high-risk flood zone around Montrose?
In most cases, an AE zone has a 1% annual chance of flooding and a base flood elevation, which shapes building rules near St. Paul.
Can I challenge a flood zone near Franklin?
You can ask FEMA for a LOMA if surveyed elevations show the building near Montrose is above the BFE; it starts with an elevation survey.
Can I see flood zones on the Lee County Beacon site?
For most people, a flood layer may appear in the Lee County Beacon site layer list; confirm a lot near Montrose on FEMA's map either way.
Where do I find the parcel number for land near Donnellson?
Every office uses it to pull the same file for land near Keokuk, and it's on the record panel and tax bills.
Open the official Lee County, IA 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.