Environmental Risk

PadStats provides FEMA flood zone classifications, USDA wildfire risk scores, NOAA storm surge zone data, and USGS sinkhole susceptibility assessments. All endpoints accept the same location input (address or coordinates) and can be combined in a single Comprehensive request.

Endpoints

Endpoint	Description	API Reference
GET /v1/flood-zone	FEMA flood zone classification	Reference
POST /v1/flood-zone	Same, via JSON body	Reference
GET /v1/fire-risk	USDA wildfire risk score and category	Reference
POST /v1/fire-risk	Same, via JSON body	Reference
GET /v1/storm-surge	Hurricane storm surge depths (categories 1–5)	Reference
POST /v1/storm-surge	Same, via JSON body	Reference
GET /v1/sinkhole-risk	USGS sinkhole susceptibility index and risk level	Reference
POST /v1/sinkhole-risk	Same, via JSON body	Reference
GET /v1/natural-hazards	Combined natural hazard indices by geography	Reference

---

Flood Zone

Returns the FEMA DFIRM flood zone classification for a location.

curl "https://api.padstats.io/v1/flood-zone?address=1234+Bayshore+Dr,+Miami+Beach,+FL+33139" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response

{
  "data": {
    "location_info": { ... },
    "fema_flood_zone": {
      "fld_zone": "AE",
      "sfha": true,
      "sfha_tf": "T",
      "static_bfe": 8.0,
      "user_label": "High Risk",
      "annual_risk": "1 %",
      "version_id": "12086C0306L",
      "fld_ar_id": "FL12086C_305",
      "study_typ": "FE",
      "v_datum": "NAVD88",
      "len_unit": "Feet",
      "source_cit": "STUDY1"
    }
  },
  "meta": { "compute_ms": 464, "credits": { "charged": 10 } },
  "error": null
}

Additional response fields:

Field	Description
study_typ	FEMA flood study type (e.g., FE = full engineering study)
v_datum	Vertical datum used for BFE (typically NAVD88 or NGVD29)
len_unit	Unit of length for elevation values (Feet or Meters)
source_cit	FEMA source citation identifier for the flood study

Flood zone codes

Code	Description	Risk
AE	Special Flood Hazard Area with Base Flood Elevation data	High — 1% annual chance
A	Special Flood Hazard Area (no BFE data available)	High — 1% annual chance
AH	Shallow flooding area, 1–3 ft depth	High
AO	Sheet flow area, 0–3 ft depth	High
VE	Coastal high hazard with BFE (wave action, 3+ ft velocity)	Very High
V	Coastal high hazard (no BFE data)	Very High
X	Minimal flood hazard, outside 500-year floodplain	Low
B	Moderate flood hazard (between 100-year and 500-year)	Moderate
C	Minimal flood hazard	Low

sfha: true means the property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area — FEMA-regulated flood insurance is typically required for federally-backed mortgages on these properties.

---

Fire Risk

Returns the USDA Forest Service wildfire burn probability and risk category.

curl "https://api.padstats.io/v1/fire-risk?address=789+Hillside+Rd,+Boulder,+CO+80302" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response

{
  "data": {
    "location_info": { ... },
    "fire_risk": {
      "has_fire_risk": true,
      "risk_value": 0.0032,
      "risk_level": 7,
      "risk_category": "high",
      "risk_category_display": "High",
      "description": "High wildfire risk area. Annual burn probability 1-in-312.",
      "annual_chance": "1-in-312",
      "return_period_years": 312,
      "data_source": "USDA Forest Service",
      "location": { "latitude": 40.015, "longitude": -105.27 }
    }
  },
  "meta": { "compute_ms": 111, "credits": { "charged": 10 } },
  "error": null
}

Risk levels

Level	Category	Annual Burn Probability
0	No data	—
1–3	Low	< 1-in-10,000
4–6	Moderate	1-in-10,000 to 1-in-1,000
7–9	High	1-in-1,000 to 1-in-100
10–11	Extreme	> 1-in-100

risk_value is the raw annual burn probability (0–1 scale). risk_level maps this to an 11-point categorical scale for easier comparison.

---

Storm Surge

Returns NOAA storm surge depth estimates for hurricane categories 1–5.

curl "https://api.padstats.io/v1/storm-surge?address=901+Ocean+Dr,+Naples,+FL+34102" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response

{
  "data": {
    "location_info": { ... },
    "storm_surge": {
      "in_surge_zone": true,
      "highest_risk_level": 3,
      "highest_risk_category": "6-9 ft",
      "max_surge_depth_ft": 9,
      "zones": [
        { "category": 1, "depth_ft": 3, "depth_category": "1-3 ft", "risk_level": 1 },
        { "category": 2, "depth_ft": 5, "depth_category": "3-6 ft", "risk_level": 2 },
        { "category": 3, "depth_ft": 9, "depth_category": "6-9 ft", "risk_level": 3 },
        { "category": 4, "depth_ft": 14, "depth_category": "9-18 ft", "risk_level": 4 },
        { "category": 5, "depth_ft": 20, "depth_category": "18+ ft", "risk_level": 4 }
      ]
    }
  },
  "meta": { "compute_ms": 69, "credits": { "charged": 10 } },
  "error": null
}

Hurricane category reference

Category	Wind Speed	Typical Surge
1	74–95 mph	2–5 ft
2	96–110 mph	4–8 ft
3	111–129 mph	7–12 ft
4	130–156 mph	11–17 ft
5	157+ mph	17+ ft

in_surge_zone: false means no storm surge data exists for this location — typically inland areas not at risk from coastal flooding.

---

Sinkhole Risk

Returns the USGS sinkhole susceptibility index (SSI) for a location, derived from geological and karst terrain analysis.

curl "https://api.padstats.io/v1/sinkhole-risk?address=456+Limestone+Dr,+Orlando,+FL+32801" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response

{
  "data": {
    "location_info": { ... },
    "sinkhole_risk": {
      "in_risk_zone": true,
      "ssi_score": 62.4,
      "risk_level": 4,
      "risk_label": "high",
      "resolution_m": 100,
      "methodology_version": "2025"
    }
  },
  "meta": { "compute_ms": 54, "credits": { "charged": 10 } },
  "error": null
}

Risk levels

Level	Label	SSI Score Range
0	None	No data available
1	Very low	0–10
2	Low	11–25
3	Moderate	26–50
4	High	51–75
5	Very high	76–100

ssi_score is the sinkhole susceptibility index on a 0–100 scale. in_risk_zone: false means no sinkhole risk data exists for the location — typically areas outside known karst geology regions.

Coverage

Sinkhole risk data is available for the contiguous US, with the highest data density in karst-prone states like Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.

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Natural Hazards (combined indices)

Returns pre-computed natural hazard risk indices aggregated at the county and census tract level. Useful for comparing risk profiles across geographies rather than point-in-time assessments.

curl "https://api.padstats.io/v1/natural-hazards?address=500+Congress+Ave,+Austin,+TX+78701" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

The response includes indexed scores (0–100) for flood, fire, storm surge, wind, and seismic risk at both the county and tract geography levels. See the Socioeconomic Data guide for index interpretation.

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Getting all risk data in one call

Use the Comprehensive endpoint (POST /v1/comprehensive) to fetch flood zone, fire risk, storm surge, and sinkhole risk in a single request:

{
  "requests": ["flood-zone", "fire-risk", "storm-surge", "sinkhole-risk"],
  "address": "901 Ocean Dr, Naples, FL 34102"
}