14,415 flood insurance claims·$856.0M paid·17 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 Sarasota 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.
Sarasota County is characterized primarily by riverine and general flooding, with 34 flood events and 1 death recorded over the last 30 years, alongside significant hurricane and tropical storm impacts. Recent major events include Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Siesta Key on October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, following its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane two days prior.
Federal Emergency Management Agency claim histories demonstrate varying impacts across different zones. Zone A has recorded 11,433 claims with an average payout of $85,009 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone V accounts for 1,096 claims averaging $99,071 with an average water depth of 7 inches. Zone X properties have experienced 1,445 claims averaging $49,375 with an average water depth of 27 inches. Shaded and unshaded Zone X areas recorded smaller numbers of claims with lower average payouts and average water depths of 2 and 3 inches, respectively.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone V, which account for the vast majority of high-cost National Flood Insurance Program claims, as well as Zone X properties where claims have involved greater average recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Sarasota County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
12,869 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 9 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 7,847 claims and $745.5M 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.
39 NOAA storm reports from Sarasota County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
48 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 17 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.
66 since 1996: 10 flash floods, 34 river or area floods and 4 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 11, 2024 | $10.0M |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2024 | $750,000 |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Sep 30, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 11, 2024. Deep tropical moisture associated with a tropical disturbance centered just offshore Tampa Bay produces 5-8 inches of rain with locally higher amounts leading to flooding across parts of Sarasota County. An isolated multi-day total of 12.87 inches reported near Siesta Key along coastal Sarasota County represented the maximum observed total associated with the event.
Storm Surge/Tide · 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…
Flash Flood · 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…
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 Sarasota 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.