27,430 flood insurance claims·$709.0M 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 Monroe 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.
Monroe County faces a dominant flood risk profile driven primarily by tropical storms, hurricanes, and storm surge. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 55 tropical storm events, 36 hurricane events, and 35 storm surge or tide events, alongside standard floods and coastal floods. For example, the center of Tropical Storm Debby passed about 85 nautical miles west-southwest of Key West in August 2024, generating tropical storm-force wind gusts in rain bands across the Straits of Florida and Florida Keys, and producing associated storm surge and tide impacts.
Federal insurance claims data illustrate distinct risk levels across various FEMA zones. Zone A properties account for the vast majority of historical claims at 23,882, with an average payout of $38,393 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone V properties recorded 3,037 claims with an average payout of $34,667 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X properties logged 386 claims averaging $27,368 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone D saw 67 claims averaging $27,745 with a 7-inch average water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists, particularly those associated with properties located in FEMA Zones A and V, should pay the closest attention to these flood and surge risks given the high volume of historical claims and average water depths of 7 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Monroe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
26,944 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 7 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 2005, with 9,186 claims and $335.4M paid, the year of Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Katrina Evacuation, Tropical Storm Rita and Hurricane Wilma.
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.
78 NOAA storm reports from Monroe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
47 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 Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Elsa | Jul 4, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
169 since 1996: 28 river or area floods and 49 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 29, 2024 | $1,500 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 25, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 25, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 20, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 20, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 29, 2024. A mesoscale low pressure system developed and moved slowly east near and over the middle Florida Keys, accompanied by widespread and persistent showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches were measured by residential weather stations between Marathon and Windley Key.
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 26, 2024. The center of Hurricane Helene passed about 200 miles west of Naples as a Category 3 hurricane moving N-NE over the eastern Gulf of Mexico around midday on Thursday, September 26th, then made landfall later that evening in the Florida Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and lowest central pressure of 938 mb. The large wind field around Helene brought tropical storm force wind…
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene moved north northeast across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, strengthening to category 2 strength before passing at closest approach 235 statue miles to the west-northwest of Key West on the morning of September 27, 2024. Widespread lower-end tropical storm force winds overspread the Florida Keys and its adjacent coastal waters producing isolated large tree limb and utility line damage. Coastal floodi…
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene moved north northeast across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, strengthening to category 2 strength before passing at closest approach 235 statue miles to the west-northwest of Key West on the morning of September 27, 2024. Widespread lower-end tropical storm force winds overspread the Florida Keys and its adjacent coastal waters producing isolated large tree limb and utility line damage. Coastal floodi…
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 Monroe 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.