51,779 flood insurance claims·$3.8B paid·13 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 Pinellas 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.
Pinellas County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by general floods, tropical storms, and storm surges. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 38 flood events, 34 tropical storms resulting in 1 death, 19 storm surge or tide events, 12 flash flood events, 7 hurricanes resulting in 2 deaths, and 5 coastal flood events. Recent events include flash flooding during the evening hours on August 10, 2025, driven by moist flow and slow-moving convection, as well as the landfall of Hurricane Milton as a Category 3 hurricane on October 9, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates varying impacts across flood zones. Zone A properties account for 45,677 claims with an average payout of $92,637 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone V properties recorded 3,199 claims with an average payout of $73,409 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Zone X properties recorded 1,580 claims with an average payout of $32,900 and an average water depth of 15 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 927 claims averaging $6,272 and 2 inches of water, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 194 claims averaging $6,021 and 2 inches of water.
Coastal properties, homes located within high-risk Zone A and Zone V areas, and properties in Zone X experiencing significant water depths should pay the most attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Pinellas County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
49,997 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 2024, with 26,366 claims and $3.4B paid, the year of Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
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.
68 NOAA storm reports from Pinellas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
45 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 13 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.
115 since 1996: 12 flash floods, 38 river or area floods and 24 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 10, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Oct 9, 2024 | $43.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash 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.
Coastal Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A broken line of thunderstorms ahead of a cold front moving across the eastern Gulf of Mexico produce wind damage in Levy, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, street flooding and a funnel cloud in Pasco County, structural fires due to lightning in Pinellas County, and a severe wind gust in Hillsborough County. Minor coastal flooding was briefly observed in Pinellas County in the wake of the line of thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Oct 10, 2024. Hurricane Milton made landfall along the west-central Florida coast near Siesta Key at 7:30 PM EST on October 9th as a major, Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum pressure of 954 mb. 2 days prior to landfall on October 7th, Milton reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph and a minimum pressure of 897 mb, making it the 5th mos…
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Oct 9, 2024. Hurricane Milton made landfall along the west-central Florida coast near Siesta Key at 7:30 PM EST on October 9th as a major, Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum pressure of 954 mb. 2 days prior to landfall on October 7th, Milton reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph and a minimum pressure of 897 mb, making it the 5th mos…
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 Pinellas 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.