2,631 flood insurance claims·$39.6M 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 Martin 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.
Martin County experiences a flood risk profile driven primarily by tropical storms, general floods, and flash floods. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 8 tropical storm events (resulting in 1 death), 8 flood events (1 death), 8 flash flood events, 2 storm surge or tide events, and 1 tropical depression. Recent activity includes outer rainbands and expansive wind fields from major tropical systems, such as Hurricane Helene in September 2024 and Hurricane Milton in October 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 1,449 claims averaging $27,996 with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone V properties experienced the highest average payout at $35,976 with an average water depth of 9 inches across 90 claims. Various Zone X designations recorded hundreds of claims with average payouts ranging from $21,033 to $29,210 and average water depths between 2 and 8 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk coastal and riverine environments, specifically those in Zone V and Zone A, where average payouts and recorded water depths are highest. Properties situated in Zone X designations also maintain a documented history of flood claims and should evaluate their risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Martin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
2,021 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 6 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 2004, with 1,069 claims and $22.2M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne.
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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Martin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
41 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Milton | Oct 5, 2024 |
| Hurricane Nicole | Nov 7, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Nicole | Nov 7, 2022 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Aug 28, 2019 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 4, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 8 flash floods, 8 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | $250,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 29, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 28, 2022 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Sep 27, 2022 | — · 1 killed |
| Tropical Storm | Nov 9, 2022 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Nov 9, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Major Hurricane Helene paralleled the west coast of Florida about 100 miles offshore before making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida near the city of Perry. The system's expansive wind field within its eastern periphery produced a period of tropical storm conditions, particularly in gusts, across much of east central Florida including its adjacent coastal waters. Peak wind gusts ranged between 45 - 55 mph…
Tropical Storm · Oct 9, 2024. Hurricane Milton moved ashore the west-central Florida coast as a category 3 hurricane on Oct 9 around 1930EST. The system continued slowly in an east-northeast trajectory across central Florida, becoming a category 1 hurricane before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral. The outer rainbands of Milton overspread the Florida peninsula earlier in the day, leading to a prolific tornado outbreak across…
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 29, 2022. After making landfall as a major hurricane in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa, Ian crossed the peninsula and into east central Florida (southern Osceola County) as a Category 1 Hurricane with estimated maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The system was downgraded to a tropical storm shortly thereafter and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral. Ian's slow movement and large wind field led to a long p…
Tropical Storm · Sep 28, 2022. After making landfall as a major hurricane in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa, Ian crossed the peninsula and into east central Florida (southern Osceola County) as a Category 1 Hurricane with estimated maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The system was downgraded to a tropical storm shortly thereafter and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral. Ian's slow movement and large wind field led to a long p…
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 Martin 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.