Blog · October 14, 2026 · Illinois
Godfrey Flood Zone Map: checking a property's flood zone
Flood zones are set by FEMA, and checking one near Bethalto takes a few minutes.
Main page: Madison County, IL GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Before you buy or build near Roxana, look at the Godfrey flood zone map: FEMA's zone label affects insurance, permits and resale. Covered here for Godfrey: the free FEMA tools, what each zone label means, when insurance is required and what a LOMA is.
Getting started with the Godfrey flood zone map
The official source is FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: type an address near Alton, and pick the FIRMette or map view. Rural land near Alton with no street number can still be found: zoom in from Interstate 255 and click the spot.
Where the parcel data lives
Go first to the Madison County parcel viewer; it covers every assessed parcel from East Alton to Wood River. If you only know roughly where the land is, follow Interstate 255 on the aerial until the lines appear, then click inside the one you want. For land near Roxana, write down the parcel ID before closing the panel; every office in the county asks for it first.
Reading the legal description
Illinois is laid out under the Public Land Survey System, so deeds around East Alton reference sections and townships. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though corrections make some sections near Alton odd-sized. Keep the legal description for land near Roxana before you request a deed or survey.
Godfrey and the county around it
Godfrey is part of Madison County, Illinois, which means parcel data comes from the county. On ground around Wood River, the municipality handles things like zoning, permits and utilities for lots inside the boundary, and the county still keeps the parcel and deed records. Acreage past the city limits near East Alton generally falls under county rules rather than the town's.
Beyond the mapped zones
Creeks and ditches near East Alton may not have detailed mapping, so look for water marks and debris lines. Wetlands near Wood River can limit building even outside a flood zone; check the National Wetlands Inventory mapper for a first look.
Questions to ask before you buy
Request whether the home has flooded for the house near Hartford; an insurance quote early keeps the budget honest.
A word on accuracy
Acreage on the record is an estimate; just a licensed surveyor can set the real corners for a parcel near Alton. For land near Hartford, records update in batches, so a deed recorded last month can take weeks to appear.
Decoding the flood zone labels
An AE label carries a published BFE, which plain A zones lack; surveyors near Hartford use that number. If you're looking near Hartford, shaded Zone X marks moderate flood hazard, between the 1% and 0.2% annual chance floods; unshaded X means minimal mapped risk.
Lining it up with the parcel map
FEMA's map shows zones but not ownership, so open the Madison County parcel viewer next for the outline of the tract near Roxana.
Insurance, lenders and building
If a building sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area and a federally regulated lender is involved, mandatory purchase rules apply where the community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, and that holds around Roxana too. Remodeling a house in a zone near East Alton usually means extra permit review; call the permitting office before you plan.
Getting your bearings
Edwardsville holds the county offices, home to the main records offices. Other places on the map include Alton, East Alton, Wood River, and Bethalto, each with its own cluster of lots. Roughly 262,752 people live in Madison County (Census estimate, 2023) on some 716 square miles. Madison County was formed in 1812, and some chains of title near Roxana are long. Features like Mississippi River and Horseshoe Lake are easy to spot when you zoom out from Hartford.
Taking the map into the field
The parcel map usually runs in a mobile browser, handy when you're parked on a road near Roxana, but coverage can be spotty out of town. A screenshot of the parcel near Bethalto with its ID is a good backup.
Land on the county line
Madison County touches Bond County, Clinton County, Jersey County, Macoupin County, and Montgomery County, and each of those keeps its own parcel map. A tract near the line by Bethalto may be split in two county records, so check the neighboring map too. If the land is near Alton, the Platbookmapper state page lists each bordering county map across Illinois.
Quick answers
When is flood insurance required around Roxana?
Lenders generally require it for buildings near East Alton in a Special Flood Hazard Area when the loan is federally regulated or insured, in communities that take part in the NFIP.
Why did my flood zone near East Alton change?
Good question; a new study can move a zone line near Alton; your community is notified before changes take effect.
Is AE a high-risk flood zone near East Alton?
In most cases, both are high-risk zones, but only AE has a base flood elevation, so builders near Alton design to that elevation.
What is a LOMA in Godfrey?
For most people, FEMA's LOMA process is the usual route when a building near Bethalto sits above the base flood elevation, and lenders accept the result.
Does the parcel map work on a phone in Godfrey?
The map near Wood River usually works on a phone, though rural signal can drop.
Open the official Madison County, IL 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.