Flood Zones in Scarborough, Jerusalem & Galilee: What the Geography Actually Shows
Scarborough, Jerusalem, and Galilee are not their own town -- they are specific villages within the Town of Narragansett, Rhode Island, sitting along the ocean at Point Judith and the harbor that connects it to Block Island Sound. This page does not state a specific FEMA flood-zone designation -- not "Zone AE," not "Zone VE," not a base flood elevation -- for any particular address in these villages, and it does not cite a specific sea-level-rise mileage figure, because no such current, parcel-level or village-specific planning data was independently confirmed in the research behind this page. What it does do is lay out, plainly and by name, the real coastal geography and the one genuinely unusual governmental fact -- Jerusalem's land isolation -- that make flood exposure a serious, ongoing question here, and point readers toward the two sources that can actually answer the address-specific question: FEMA's own Flood Map Service Center and Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC).
Three Villages of Narragansett, Not a Separate Town
Scarborough, Jerusalem, and Galilee are villages within the Town of Narragansett, Rhode Island -- not an incorporated town of their own. All three sit on or near Point Judith, the peninsula where Narragansett Bay meets the open Atlantic and Block Island Sound, which is exactly the kind of exposed, multi-directional coastal geography that makes flood risk worth taking seriously here. This site's Narragansett, RI flood-zones page already covers the town-wide picture -- Narragansett is 37.8 square miles total, and only 14.1 of those square miles are land, per Wikipedia -- and that town-wide water-to-land ratio applies to these villages too, since they sit right at the water's edge on the ocean side of town.
Because these are villages rather than a separate municipality, there is no separate Scarborough, Jerusalem, or Galilee entry in FEMA's flood-map system or in the National Weather Service -- any flood-zone lookup for a property here has to be done under Narragansett, using the specific street address.
Jerusalem: A Village Reachable Only Through Another Town
Jerusalem is a genuinely unusual case worth naming plainly. Per Wikipedia's dedicated Jerusalem, Rhode Island entry, the village sits on Point Judith across the harbor from Galilee, at the east end of East Matunuck State Beach -- but it is not connected by land to any other part of Narragansett. Its only land border is with the Matunuck section of the neighboring town of South Kingstown. As a direct consequence, fire and police service in Jerusalem is provided by South Kingstown, not by Narragansett, even though Jerusalem is legally part of Narragansett. That is a confirmed, sourced governmental fact, not a rumor -- and it means Jerusalem's practical land access runs through another municipality entirely.
A separate, lower-confidence source (Grokipedia, an AI-generated reference work rather than a peer-reviewed or editorially-curated encyclopedia) adds a more specific claim: that Jerusalem's sole land connection is a causeway on Succotash Road, and that this causeway is vulnerable to flooding during nor'easters and hurricanes. This research could not independently confirm that specific causeway-flooding claim through a second, more authoritative source, so it is presented here only as reported, not as settled fact. What is confirmed is the broader point: Jerusalem is Narragansett territory reachable by land only through South Kingstown, which on its own is a meaningful consideration for anyone thinking about evacuation routes or storm access to a Jerusalem property, independent of any specific road-flooding claim.
Scarborough State Beach: Real, Low-Lying Oceanfront Geography
Scarborough State Beach is a useful, specific illustration of the kind of low-lying oceanfront land these villages sit on. Per Wikipedia and Rhode Island State Parks' own history page, the beach was first developed with a pavilion in 1937 -- what is now called Scarborough North, with roughly 2,325 feet of beach frontage on Ocean Road. The state later added two adjoining private beaches to the south: 7-acre Lido's Beach, acquired in 1981, and 9-acre Olivo's Beach, acquired in 1986, developed through a multiphase redevelopment beginning in 1987 into what is now Scarborough South. Combined, the complex today totals 59.7 acres with 0.85 miles of shoreline, at two Ocean Road addresses.
That is nearly a mile of continuous, developed oceanfront, built up in stages over roughly fifty years directly on the Atlantic. It is not, on its own, a FEMA flood-zone designation for any private property nearby -- but it is a concrete, verifiable illustration of the kind of low-lying, wave-exposed coastal land that runs along this stretch of Point Judith, and a reasonable starting point for understanding why FEMA and CRMC data matter for addresses near it.
What This Page Cannot Tell You: No Confirmed FEMA Zone, No Sea-Level-Rise Mileage Figure
No current, parcel-level FEMA flood-zone letter or base flood elevation, for a home in Scarborough, Jerusalem, or Galilee, was found or independently confirmed in the research behind this page -- and none is invented here. Likewise, no specific sea-level-rise mileage or road-vulnerability figure for these villages was confirmed. If a number cannot be confirmed, this page says so plainly rather than guessing at one that sounds plausible.
For an actual FEMA flood-zone letter and base flood elevation tied to a specific address, go directly to FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov. For parcel-specific coastal-resource guidance -- setbacks, buffer zones, and permitting questions tied to this stretch of Point Judith's shoreline -- Rhode Island's own Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) is the state agency with jurisdiction over the coastal zone, and it is worth consulting directly rather than relying on a general description of the area's geography. Neither of those sources is replaced by anything on this page.
What This Means If You Are Evaluating Property in Scarborough, Jerusalem, or Galilee
Put plainly: these villages do not have a settled, address-level flood-zone story on this page, and no sea-level-rise mileage figure is quoted here, because neither was independently confirmed. What is real and confirmed is the underlying geography -- an exposed Point Judith location where Narragansett Bay meets the open Atlantic, a village (Jerusalem) whose only land connection runs through a different town, and a specific, documented example of low-elevation, developed oceanfront at Scarborough State Beach.
Before buying, insuring, or building on any property in Scarborough, Jerusalem, or Galilee, get a current, address-specific flood-zone determination from FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, and check with Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Management Council for any coastal-zone permitting or setback questions specific to that parcel. This page is independent research, not a flood-zone determination, and it is not a substitute for FEMA's own current mapping, CRMC's parcel-specific guidance, a licensed surveyor, or a qualified insurance professional.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: Wikipedia's own Jerusalem, Rhode Island entry (Jerusalem's only land border is with the Matunuck section of South Kingstown; fire and police service there is provided by South Kingstown rather than Narragansett); Wikipedia's Scarborough Beach (Rhode Island) entry and Rhode Island State Parks' own history page (Scarborough North developed with a pavilion in 1937, roughly 2,325 feet of frontage; Lido's Beach, 7 acres, acquired 1981, and Olivo's Beach, 9 acres, acquired 1986, redeveloped from 1987 into Scarborough South; combined complex 59.7 acres with 0.85 miles of shoreline); and Wikipedia's Narragansett, RI entry for town-wide land/water area. A separate, lower-confidence source, Grokipedia (an AI-generated reference work), describes a specific claim that Jerusalem's Succotash Road causeway floods during nor'easters and hurricanes -- this research could not independently confirm that specific claim through a second, more authoritative source, so it is presented above only as reported, not as settled fact. This page could not confirm, and does not state, any current FEMA flood-zone designation, base flood elevation, or state-produced sea-level-rise mileage figure specific to Scarborough, Jerusalem, or Galilee. For a current, address-specific flood-zone determination, use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov directly. For coastal-zone permitting, setback, and parcel-specific guidance, consult Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) directly. Nothing on this page is a flood-zone determination, insurance advice, or a substitute for a licensed surveyor, qualified insurance professional, or FEMA's own current mapping.