Blog · October 14, 2026 · Iowa
Lee County Flood Zone Map (Iowa)
Look up any Lee County address on FEMA's flood map, read the zone, and match it to the parcel record for land around West Point.
Main page: Lee County, IA GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Lee County facts and neighboring maps).
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A Lee County flood zone map check belongs in the due diligence for any Lee County property, from a house lot in Franklin to farm ground near Keokuk. You can check it yourself for any Franklin address in a few minutes.
Next: FEMA's search tool, the zone labels you'll see for Lee County, and how the parcel record confirms which tract you're on.
How to use the Lee County flood zone map
The authoritative source for a Lee County flood zone map is FEMA, so begin at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. If a parcel near Donnellson has no street number yet, search the nearest road and pan to it. On acreage outside West Point, FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer viewer draws the zones over aerial imagery; zoom to the parcel near Donnellson and click. Switch to the Lee County Beacon site and locate the same parcel near Donnellson. The Lee County record gives the parcel ID and legal description that an insurer or lender near West Point may ask for.
Step one: the free Lee County viewer
For land around West Point, open the Lee County Beacon site (Schneider Geospatial's Beacon platform); it is the map Lee County itself publishes. In the county version, the search page takes an owner, an address or a parcel ID, and each report links back to the map view for the parcel near Donnellson. Bookmark our Lee County page too; it tracks the official Iowa link if it moves and lists the maps around Donnellson.
High, moderate and minimal risk in Lee County
Any Lee County parcel shaded as Zone A, AE, AH or AO sits in what FEMA calls a Special Flood Hazard Area, meaning FEMA estimates a 1-percent annual chance of flooding. Zone AE near Donnellson means FEMA published a base flood elevation; plain Zone A means no detailed elevation was studied. Land near Donnellson in shaded X (Zone B on older maps) sits in the moderate band between the 100-year and 500-year floods. Unshaded Zone X near Donnellson is minimal risk.
Where water shapes land in Lee County
Parcels touching Mississippi River deserve a FEMA check before anything else in Lee County. Waterfront and bottomland parcels near West Point frequently carry a zone along one edge, so check where the buildable part sits. A creek near Donnellson that displays no detailed zone, so treat an unmapped channel as a reason to ask questions, not proof the ground stays dry.
A short buyer checklist for Montrose
Request any past flood claims history for a Lee County property before closing; it tells you more than the map alone. Quotes for land near Sandusky depend on the zone and the building's elevation, so bring both to the agent.
Map dates and floodways in Lee County
When FEMA restudies streams in the county, preliminary maps are posted before they take effect, and a lot near Sandusky can move in or out of a zone. A floodway on a county panel marks the part of the floodplain that carries the main flow, and it is treated more strictly than the rest of the zone near Sandusky.
Flood insurance and building rules in Lee County
Lenders watch the zone closely on Lee County properties. When a structure near Donnellson is mapped in a high-risk zone and is financed by a regulated or federally insured lender, federal rules call for flood insurance under the Flood Disaster Protection Act, wherever the community joins the NFIP. Outside the A zones around Donnellson, federal rules do not require a policy, although some lenders require it anyway. When a Lee County homesite is on a rise inside a mapped zone, a Letter of Map Amendment request is the formal route, supported by elevation data from a professional surveyor. Placing fill on low ground near West Point frequently requires a permit and an elevation check, and the building office serving Donnellson explains the steps.
Lee County, IA: common questions
Is Zone AE near St. Paul high risk?
Zone AE on a lot in Montrose is a mapped 100-year floodplain with a base flood elevation, so mandatory insurance rules apply to federally backed mortgages.
Is my Montrose address in a flood zone?
FEMA's free map service covers Lee County: enter the address or pan to the parcel near St. Paul, then note the zone label.
What does 100-year flood mean for Lee County land?
No; land near St. Paul in the 100-year floodplain has a 1-percent chance of flooding every year, so floods can come in back-to-back years.
My house near St. Paul is in Zone X. Is insurance required?
For a Zone X house near St. Paul, federal rules do not require flood insurance; buying it is still a choice worth pricing.
Do I need a permit to build in the floodplain near Montrose?
Often, but local floodplain rules apply; ask the county or town building office in Montrose well before you buy.
Open the official Lee County, IA parcel map Lee County 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.