Blog · October 14, 2026 · Mississippi
The Newton County Flood Zone Map: a Mississippi guide
How to check if a property in Newton County sits in a FEMA flood zone, and what the answer means for a buyer near Union.
Main page: Newton County, MS GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Newton County facts and neighboring maps).
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The Newton County flood zone map question tends to arrive at a bad moment: a lender's letter, an insurance quote, or a permit counter in Chunky. Here's how to read FEMA's map for a Newton County, MS property and match it to the parcel record.
The sections below go from the FEMA search to the Newton County parcel record, then cover insurance, permits and map changes near Union.
Where to see the official Newton County flood zone map
Open the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and type a county street address, say one in Lake. Search returns the effective FIRM panel for the spot in Newton County, plus any pending changes FEMA has posted. If the PDF panel for Newton County is hard to read, try FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer viewer and reports the zone wherever you click near Lake. Next, the Newton County ArcGIS parcel map confirms which Newton County parcel you're looking at. If the Newton County viewer has a floodplain layer, treat it as a convenience copy and confirm on FEMA's map.
Opening the Newton County parcel viewer
For land around Decatur, open the Newton County ArcGIS parcel map (an Esri ArcGIS web map); it is the map Newton County itself publishes. Use the search box for an address in Hickory or a parcel number, or simply zoom in and click a parcel near Decatur. If the official address for the Newton County, MS map ever changes, our directory page carries the current link for Hickory and the rest of the county.
Newton County land records
Deeds and recorded plats for Newton County are filed with the chancery clerk. A deed or plat for land near Chunky is kept by the county chancery clerk, Mississippi's land-records custodian. Copy the parcel number and legal description from the county record well before you request a deed for land near Chunky.
Tracts that cross the Newton County line
Newton County borders Clarke County, Jasper County, Kemper County, Lauderdale County, and Leake County, and each keeps its own parcel map and records. Our Mississippi page links each map neighboring Newton County.
Getting oriented in Newton County, MS
From Decatur, the seat of the county, the map spreads out to Newton, Chunky, Hickory, and Lake. Smaller places such as Conehatta, Cedar Grove, and Duffee appear on the Newton County map as little clusters of lots. Census Bureau estimates put Newton County at about 21,019 residents in 2023 on about 578 square miles of land. Beyond the town lots in Chunky, expect big rural parcels across the county. Newton County was organized in 1836, so deeds for older farms near Union can run back a long way.
Zone A, AE and X in plain English
Any Newton County parcel shaded as Zone A, AE, AH or AO sits in what FEMA calls a Special Flood Hazard Area, land with a 1-percent chance of flooding in any given year (the base or 100-year flood). Where a Newton County tract lists Zone AE, there's a base flood elevation to compare a building against; in Zone A there is not one. Shaded Zone X around Lake falls between the base flood and the 500-year flood. Unshaded Zone X near Chunky is minimal risk.
Unmapped creeks in Newton County
Small streams and ditches near Lake may not be studied in detail can still flood; FEMA says moderate- and low-risk areas still carry risk.
Insurance, permits and map changes
The zone lists up again when a loan on a house near Chunky is underwritten. If a house near Chunky sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area and is financed by a regulated or federally insured lender, a flood policy becomes a loan condition under the Flood Disaster Protection Act, wherever the community joins the NFIP. Outside the A zones around Chunky, federal rules do not require a policy; pricing a policy for land near Chunky is still worth a call. When a Newton County homesite is on a rise inside a mapped zone, a Letter of Map Amendment request is the formal route, generally backed by an elevation certificate from a surveyor who works in Newton County. New construction in a Newton County Special Flood Hazard Area generally needs a floodplain permit, and the building office serving Chunky explains the steps.
Newton County flood zones questions
My lot in Hickory lists Zone AE. What does that mean?
For a Newton County parcel, Zone AE means a Special Flood Hazard Area with a 1-percent annual chance of flooding and a published base flood elevation.
My house near Union is in Zone X. Is insurance required?
Not under federal rules; Zone X in Newton County is outside the Special Flood Hazard Area, though a lender can still require coverage.
Is there a floodplain layer in the Newton County ArcGIS parcel map?
Check the layer list in the Newton County ArcGIS parcel map; if Newton County includes a floodplain layer, confirm the zone on FEMA's map anyway.
Do I need a permit to build in the floodplain near Hickory?
Often, but local floodplain rules apply; ask the county or town building office in Hickory well before you buy.
Can a flood zone in Newton County be changed?
FEMA reviews requests such as a LOMA for Newton County properties; start with an elevation certificate.
Open the official Newton County, MS parcel map Newton 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.