You may live in or near the 100-year floodplain in Chemung or Steuben counties. Within the floodplain you can expect a 25% chance that you will be flooded once in 30 years. For example, records indicate that in the last 150 years, rivers in the Chemung River Basin have inundated various communities from Hornell to Wellsburg on an average of once every 4 1/2 years.

Two kinds of flood maps are on file in your county, city, village or town offices. One is a flood stage map, which relates downstream flooding to a specific river gauge upstream. The second is the official Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). This Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) map can help you determine the location of your home in relationship to the 100-year floodplain.