Updated: Worried about flooding at your Bluffton home? Read this

After devastating flooding in parts of the state earlier this year, the town of Bluffton has developed an interactive online map to show residents how susceptible their homes and businesses might be to high water.

The map, launched last month, shows a multi-colored overlay of three floodplains -- 100-year, 500-year and 500-plus-year -- and allows users to input an address to see in which floodplain it lies.

A home that sits in the 100-year floodplain has about a 1 percent chance of flooding in a given year.

Homes in the 500-year floodplain have about a 0.2 percent chance of flooding.

George Owens, the town's chief building official, called the flooding seen in areas around Columbia and Charleston in October a "wake-up call for many for the area."

"If a devastating flood can happen in the middle of our state, it can happen here just feet or miles from a body of water," he said in an email Thursday.

Mayor Lisa Sulka said Thursday that even if Bluffton isn't hit with major flooding, parts of the town are regularly affected by king tides.

"This is stuff that you need to know, " she said, referring to information about where town residents live in relation to the floodplain. "And we do whatever we can to get as much of that out there."

The map indicates the parts of Old Town close to the May River are particularly flood prone.

Portions of Palmetto Bluff, Rose Dhu Creek Plantation, the Village at Verdier, and May River Plantation are also located in the 100-year floodplain.

Map users can zoom in to an individual property and find other flood-related information.

For example, homes in Palmetto Bluff on the banks of the river are noted as being in a Federal Emergency Management Agency designated "special flood hazard area" where specific insurance and building standards are required.

Owens said it is crucial for people to be aware of flood zones during the home buying process.

The location of the home in relation to high-risk zones could mean a "significant difference over time in regards to construction and insurance costs," he said.

Sulka, who is a local real estate agent by trade, said home buyers moving to the area -- particularly from places further inland or at higher elevations -- often have questions about flood vulnerability.

"Buyers are very smart, but sometimes things like (the risk of flooding) aren't typical in other places," she said. "So if you are moving, things like (the town's flood map) can help with the education process."

To access the map, visit http://www.townofbluffton.us/flood/.

Follow reporter Lucas High on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Lucas.

Related content:

• Flood insurance rates, fees increase Wednesday, March 31, 2015
• Bluffton adds web feature to help avoid voter confusion, Nov. 5, 2015

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Updated: Worried about flooding at your Bluffton home? Read this."