48,496 flood insurance claims·$4.0B paid·16 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Lee County, Florida. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Lee County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by general floods, tropical storms, and flash floods. Over the past 30 years, NOAA recorded 39 flood events, 13 tropical storm events, 11 flash flood events, and 5 hurricane events resulting in 61 deaths.
Recent occurrences illustrate these recurring hazards. In August 2025, a surface trough and inverted troughing over the eastern gulf caused slow-moving, deep convection that produced heavy rain and flash flooding in parts of the county during the early morning hours. Later that year in September 2025, slow-moving thunderstorms associated with the sea breeze and a stationary frontal boundary produced heavy rainfall that led to street flooding near Fort Myers, followed by additional minor street flooding near Fort Myers later in the month due to afternoon thunderstorms.
NFIP claims data demonstrates varying risk levels across zones. Zone A properties experienced 42,755 claims with an average payout of $103,025 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Zone V properties saw 3,506 claims with an average payout of $190,016 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Zone X properties recorded 1,498 claims with an average payout of $68,018 and an average recorded water depth of 23 inches. Coastal properties in high-risk zones and homeowners in lower-risk zones experiencing deep water accumulation should pay the most attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Lee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
46,511 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 11 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2022, with 28,889 claims and $3.4B paid, the year of Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
37 NOAA storm reports from Lee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
45 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Milton | Oct 5, 2024 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Hurricane Idalia | Aug 27, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Idalia | Aug 27, 2023 |
| Hurricane Nicole | Nov 7, 2022 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
75 since 1996: 11 flash floods, 39 river or area floods and 5 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 10, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 15, 2024 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2024 | $30,000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2024 | $77.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 17, 2025. Low-level easterly flow underneath mid- and upper-level west-southwest flow aloft associated with broad troughing over the eastern U.S. lead to afternoon thunderstorms that produce minor street flooding near Fort Myers in Lee County.
Flood · Sep 10, 2025. Slow-moving, late afternoon into early evening thunderstorms associated with the sea breeze and a stationary frontal boundary across the central peninsula produce heavy rainfall that leads to street flooding near Fort Myers in Lee County.
Flood · Aug 10, 2025. A surface trough across the peninsula coupled with broad low- to mid-level inverted troughing over the eastern gulf enables moist south to southeast flow over the peninsula, leading to clusters of slow-moving, deep convection with heavy rain producing flash flooding in parts of Lee County during the early morning hours, and in parts of Pinellas County during the evening hours.
Flood · Jan 15, 2024. An eastward-progressing mid-/upper-level disturbance interacting with a surface trough over southwest Florida produced a slow-moving cluster of thunderstorms that produced localized heavy rainfall totaling 5-10 inches with locally higher amounts over parts of Lee County near Fort Myers and Cape Coral, resulting in numerous flooded streets and roadways, and inundated vehicles in the Cape Coral area.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Lee County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.