fldzone = 'VE' (formerly V1–V30)

Risk tier: High — coastal high-hazard area within the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).

Zone VE is the coastal 1%-annual-chance floodplain subject to wave action of 3 feet or more, in areas where FEMA performed a detailed coastal study and published Base Flood Elevations. It is the most rigorously regulated flood zone in the dataset because it combines high still-water flooding, wave forces, and erosion.

Relationship to V1–V30

As with the A zones, detailed-study coastal zones were historically numbered V1 through V30. FEMA consolidated them into the single label VE. Treat any V1–V30 value as equivalent to VE.

Base Flood Elevation includes wave effects

In VE areas the BFE is a wave-crest elevation — it already incorporates wave height and runup on top of the still-water level, so it is typically higher than the BFE of a nearby AE reach.

• Where a uniform elevation applies, it is published in staticbfe (feet, NAVD 88).
• Along the shore the BFE varies with the wave transect, so many VE segments have staticbfe = NULL and the elevation must be read from the FIRM/Flood Insurance Study.

Building and insurance implications

• Flood insurance is federally required; VE carries the highest premiums of any zone.
• Buildings must be elevated on piles or columns so the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member is at or above the BFE.
• The space below must be free of obstruction (breakaway walls only); fill for structural support and solid foundation walls are prohibited.
• A registered engineer or architect must certify the design against wave and flood loads.

zonesubty values

Some panels also delineate a Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA) within adjoining AE areas — the "Coastal A Zone" — where waves are 1.5–3 ft. That line is advisory and does not change the fldzone value itself.

In the data

SELECT lrid, parceladdr, staticbfe
FROM   lr_parcel_us
WHERE  fldzone = 'VE';

See also: Zone V (coastal high hazard, no BFE), Zone AE (inland detailed study).