10,439 flood insurance claims·$519.8M paid·20 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 Santa Rosa 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.
Flash flooding from severe thunderstorms dominates the flood history of Santa Rosa County, accounting for the vast majority of local flood events over the last 30 years alongside tropical storms, storm surge, and coastal flooding. Recent events illustrate this pattern, such as a large cluster of thunderstorms that stalled near the coast in June 2023, dropping 6 to 12 inches of rain and causing widespread flash flooding. Another significant event occurred in June 2021, when Tropical Storm Claudette produced frequent tropical storm-force wind gusts and heavy rain across the western Florida Panhandle.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates widespread risk across multiple zones. Zone A has recorded the highest claim volume with 6,920 claims averaging $63,679 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Zone V follows with 1,138 claims averaging $59,228 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in Zone X have also experienced substantial impacts, with 1,627 claims averaging $59,632 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches, while shaded and unshaded Zone X areas recorded additional claims with varying average water depths between 4 and 6 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists working with properties in Zone A, Zone V, and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks given the high volume of historical claims and recorded water depths across the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Santa Rosa County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
8,772 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 10 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 4,274 claims and $399.2M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Ivan.
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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Santa Rosa County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
43 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 20 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 10, 2024 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Fred | Aug 13, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
76 since 1996: 68 flash floods, 1 river or area floods and 3 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 9, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2025. Heavy rain caused flooding across the western Florida panhandle.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2025. Heavy rain caused flooding in portions of the western Florida panhandle.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2024. Thunderstorms produced heavy rain across the portions of the Florida panhandle leading to flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2023. A large cluster of thunderstorms stalled near the coast in the Florida panhandle and produced very heavy rain with 6 to 12 inches of rain recorded. This caused widespread flash flooding around Pensacola. The thunderstorms also produced wind damage.
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 Santa Rosa 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.