2,271 flood insurance claims·$73.1M paid·12 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 Orange 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.
Orange County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by general floods, tropical storms, and flash floods. Over the past 30 years, NOAA records show nine flood events, seven tropical storms resulting in 16 deaths, six flash floods, two tropical depressions causing four deaths, and one hurricane. Recent activity includes major tropical systems, such as Hurricane Helene in September 2024, which brought tropical storm conditions and wind gusts up to 65 mph across east-central Florida. Additionally, Hurricane Milton moved across central Florida in October 2024 as a category 3 hurricane at landfall, producing severe flash flooding, floods, and tropical storm conditions.
Federal insurance data demonstrates that flood risks extend significantly beyond high-risk areas. Properties in FEMA Zone A account for 1,284 claims with an average payout of $65,664 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have filed 817 claims with an average payout of $48,168 and an average recorded water depth of 30 inches, and Zone X shaded properties recorded an average water depth of 18 inches across 11 claims. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within both Zone A and Zone X, as moderate-risk zones experience substantial average water depths and insurance claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Orange County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,430 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 17 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 909 claims and $59.7M 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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Orange County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
39 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 12 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Milton | Oct 5, 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 |
| Tropical Storm Nicole | Nov 7, 2022 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2024 | $1.6M · 5 killed |
| Flood | Oct 9, 2024 | $15.0M |
| Flood | Sep 1, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 28, 2022 | $206.0M |
— = 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…
Flash Flood · 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…
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…
Flood · 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…
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 Orange 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.