FEMA’s latest draft flood maps for Bexar County are quietly reshuffling who is in and who is out of San Antonio’s flood risk zones, and the numbers are no small tweak. The new draft panels, released Tuesday, pull more than 5,600 buildings and roughly 5,000 parcels into proposed flood zones while removing thousands of others. County figures show about 5,007 parcels and 5,639 buildings added to draft floodplain areas, with roughly 3,333 parcels and 3,577 buildings taken out. The redraw reaches into school neighborhoods too, with two campuses newly included and several others apparently off the draft hazard list.
As reported by News 4 San Antonio, county documents behind FEMA’s draft show Leon Springs Elementary and Southwest Academy are now fully inside the draft maps. Meanwhile, Elm Creek Elementary, Mirabeau B. Lamar Elementary, Cooper Academy and Tafolla Middle appear to be removed. The outlet reports that the tallies - thousands of parcels and buildings added and removed - came from county figures reviewed by reporters.
Why the maps changed
The San Antonio River Authority says the update leans on newer rainfall data, refreshed topography from TNRIS and current local development patterns that have changed how and where water actually flows. The River Authority, which partnered with FEMA on the multiyear study, notes the engineering and modeling work started years ago and required updated inputs to better match on-the-ground conditions. That combination of revised rainfall estimates, terrain information and growth patterns is driving both the expansion and contraction of mapped flood zones.
FEMA review and what comes next
FEMA’s mapping process is still in the draft stage. Preliminary panels are posted for public review first, and communities then get a statutory appeals and comment period before maps are adopted. FEMA’s map portal and FEMA Map Service Center explain that once the preliminary maps come out, there is a review and appeals phase followed by a compliance period before any new Flood Insurance Rate Maps become effective. For now, affected property owners should know these changes are still draft until that full process plays out. For technical details and to search specific addresses, FEMA directs users to the Map Service Center.
Why this matters to San Antonio
The draft update lands in a city that still remembers deadly high water. Last June’s flash floods in San Antonio, which killed 13 people, underscored how much is at stake when flood science lags reality, as reported by KSAT. New mapped designations can influence whether lenders require flood insurance, how parcels are permitted for new construction and how school districts plan for campus safety and facilities. Local officials and districts will now have to study the draft boundaries to see whether operations, budgets or insurance obligations could be affected.
What property owners and schools should do now
For property owners, step one is to look up your address on the interactive maps. County and FEMA viewers allow parcel-by-parcel searches, and News 4 San Antonio highlighted a direct link to an interactive ArcGIS viewer where residents can plug in individual addresses. If a structure now falls inside a Special Flood Hazard Area under the draft, owners should talk with their mortgage lender and an insurance agent about coverage options, and review FEMA guidance on appeals, Letters of Map Amendment and Letters of Map Revision at the FEMA Map Service Center.
Northside ISD told reporters the draft maps are not final and said the district will evaluate potential impacts once the process moves forward. Southwest ISD had not responded to requests for comment, according to local coverage. The maps will now proceed through FEMA’s public review and appeal schedule in the coming months, giving property owners and school districts time to gather information, submit technical comments or file formal appeals if they decide the data supports it.
