Check whether a property is in a flood zone in Spain
The BarrioRadar Flood Zone Checker lets you search any street address and building number in Spain to check whether official national or regional flood cartography intersects the property entrance or lies within a 20-metre proximity perimeter.
When you select an address, BarrioRadar resolves verified doorway coordinates from the official IGN CartoCiudad address register where a portal record is matched, or evaluates the resolved street coordinates when a specific building number is not registered. It then checks the location against the active national and autonomous-community flood hazard layers that apply to that territory. On desktop, you can filter individual official source layers on the interactive map; on mobile, all applicable official layers are displayed by default and source details remain available in the map popups.
Official flood maps used by BarrioRadar
Flood mapping in Spain is published by the national water authority alongside specialised regional hydrological and territorial agencies. Depending on where the property is located, BarrioRadar evaluates up to six official cartographic sources:
MITECO SNCZI (National Flood Mapping System)
Published by the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico under Royal Decree 903/2010 and the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). Covers hydraulically modelled river and coastal flood zones (T=10, T=100, and T=500-year return periods) and Preferential Flow Zones (ZFP) inside designated Significant Potential Flood Risk Areas (ARPSIs).
GVA PATRICOVA (Comunitat Valenciana)
Published by the Generalitat Valenciana under Decret 201/2015. Combines territory-wide hydraulic flood hazard levels (levels 1 to 6 across 25, 100, and 500-year return periods) with geomorphological flood-susceptibility mapping (level 7) across Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia.
CAIB PHIB / PTI (Illes Balears)
Published by the Govern de les Illes Balears (Direcció General de Recursos Hídrics and Island Territorial Plans). Includes hydraulically modelled floodplains, potentially floodable geomorphological zones (ZPI), statutory public torrent channel beds (DPH), and Menorca PTI flood risk prevention areas.
ACA / ICGC INUNCAT (Catalunya)
Published by the Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA) and Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya (ICGC). Complements hydraulic river mapping with official geomorphological flood-susceptibility terrain mapping across Catalonia.
URA / GeoEuskadi (País Vasco)
Published by the Basque Water Agency (Agencia Vasca del Agua - URA). Provides high-resolution regional hydraulic floodplains (T=10, T=100, T=500) and Preferential Flow Zones across Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa, including river reaches not duplicated in national summaries.
IDENA OtrosGN (Navarra)
Published by the Gobierno de Navarra via the Spatial Data Infrastructure of Navarre (IDENA). Covers regional hydraulic studies across Navarre, including frequent bankfull return periods (T=2.33, T=5, T=25) as well as 100-year, 500-year, and Preferential Flow Zones.
Understanding flood-map results
BarrioRadar classifies each property check into one of five transparent states based on the doorway coordinates and the coverage regime of the official maps available in that territory:
1. This property is in a mapped flood zone (Direct intersection)
At least one active official flood polygon directly intersects the property entrance coordinates (0 m distance). The popup shows the exact source authority, classification, watercourse name, and return period where applicable.
2. A mapped flood zone is nearby (Within 20 metres)
The doorway point itself lies just outside the polygon boundary, but an official mapped flood zone is within 20 metres of the entrance. Because parcel boundaries, garden walls, and garage ramps span several metres, nearby zones warrant close inspection on the map.
3. No mapped flood hazard identified (Qualified territory-wide screening)
Shown in territories where both corridor hydraulic mapping and territory-wide regional geomorphological screening are active (such as Comunitat Valenciana under SNCZI + PATRICOVA) and neither identifies a hazard within 20 metres.
4. No mapped flood hazard identified in available official maps (Incomplete coverage)
Shown when no active official polygon intersects or lies within 20 metres, but official mapping in that region only covers studied river/coastal corridors (ARPSIs) rather than every minor stream, ravine, or urban drainage basin.
5. Flood assessment unavailable
Displayed if the spatial check cannot be completed due to a temporary service interruption. BarrioRadar never reports an unverified or failed check as a clean flood result.
What official flood mapping cannot tell you
Official flood cartography is an essential starting point when researching a home in Spain, but every buyer should understand its technical boundaries:
Unmapped tributaries and secondary ravines
National SNCZI maps focus on designated Significant Potential Flood Risk Areas (ARPSIs). Outside those studied corridors, smaller streams, seasonal ramblas, or rural valleys may not have published hydraulic models.
Urban stormwater and sewer surcharging
River and coastal flood maps do not model localised street-level pluvial ponding caused by intense cloudbursts (such as DANA rainfall events) overwhelming municipal storm drains.
Building-specific elevation and basements
Cartographic polygons are evaluated against the street entrance coordinates. Actual impact on a specific dwelling depends on floor level, threshold height above street grade, underground parking ramps, and flood barriers.
Events exceeding modelled scenarios
Even a 500-year floodplain boundary is not an absolute physical limit; extreme meteorological events or debris blockages at bridges can alter flow paths beyond modelled contours.
Continue researching this property and neighbourhood
Combine flood-zone screening with BarrioRadar's full suite of official Spanish property and neighbourhood intelligence:
Frequently asked questions about flood zones in Spain
Clear, factual answers on how official Spanish flood maps work and how to interpret your property check.
How do I check if a property in Spain is in a flood zone?
Enter the street name, building number, and municipality into the search box at the top of the map and select the matching address from the suggestions. BarrioRadar resolves the official CartoCiudad doorway coordinates (or street-level coordinates where a specific portal number is not registered) and checks them against MITECO SNCZI and applicable regional flood maps within a 20-metre radius.
Is this Spain flood zone checker free to use?
Yes. Checking individual property addresses on the interactive flood map, filtering official national and regional layers on desktop, and inspecting source and polygon details in the map popups on desktop and mobile is completely free and requires no registration.
What does a 10, 100, or 500-year return period (T=10, T=100, T=500) mean?
A return period expresses the statistical recurrence interval of a modelled flood event in any given year: T=10 corresponds to a 10% annual probability (high probability), T=100 corresponds to a 1% annual probability (medium probability), and T=500 corresponds to a 0.2% annual probability (low probability / extreme event). In Navarre, regional IDENA studies also include frequent bankfull intervals such as T=2.33 years.
What is a Preferential Flow Zone (Zona de Flujo Preferente - ZFP)?
Under Spanish water regulations (Real Decreto 849/1986 and Real Decreto 638/2016), the Zona de Flujo Preferente is the corridor where concentrated, high-velocity floodwaters flow during a 100-year event and where serious damage to people or property can occur. Properties inside a ZFP face strict statutory restrictions on new construction, basement uses, and structural modifications.
Why does a property show "No mapped flood hazard identified in available official maps"?
In most of Spain, official hydraulic flood maps are only produced along designated high-risk river and coastal corridors (ARPSIs). If a property lies outside those mapped polygons, no official mapped hazard is present in the available datasets, but unmodelled minor streams or local urban drainage risks cannot be ruled out.
Why do some flood zones in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, or Valencia have no return period?
Regional agencies such as ACA/ICGC in Catalonia, CAIB in the Balearic Islands, and PATRICOVA (Level 7) in the Valencian Community publish geomorphological flood-susceptibility layers and public torrent channel domains alongside hydraulic models. Geomorphological layers identify terrain historically or physically prone to water accumulation based on landform analysis rather than a specific return-period simulation.
Why does BarrioRadar flag flood zones within 20 metres of the property entrance?
Verified portal coordinates mark the street entrance point (or the resolved street location when an exact building number is not in the register). Because residential plots, gardens, rear terraces, and underground garage entrances often extend 10 to 20 metres from the front entrance, flagging any official flood boundary within 20 metres ensures you can visually inspect whether the polygon touches another part of the building or plot.