Enter any address in Suwannee County, Florida to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding and tropical storm impacts are the primary flood drivers in Suwannee County. Recent events include Hurricane Helene in September 2024, which brought strong winds and damage, and Hurricane Debby in August 2024, causing widespread inland flooding across the Suwannee River Valley.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data shows that properties in Zone A have experienced the most claims, with an average payout of $18,376 and water depths averaging 3.2 feet. Notably, properties in Zone X, despite fewer claims, have seen higher average payouts of $43,301 with an average water depth of 4.9 feet. Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X, as well as those in areas with unknown flood risk, should pay close attention to potential flood hazards.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
13 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Suwannee County, Florida has recorded 32 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 12 flash floods and 8 river or area floods. The county has received 39 federal disaster declarations, 1 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1973–2024)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Milton | Hurricane | Oct 5, 2024 |
| Hurricane Helene | Hurricane | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Tropical Storm | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Tropical Storm | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Tropical Storm | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Severe Storm | May 10, 2024 |
| Hurricane Idalia | Hurricane | Aug 27, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Idalia | Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2023 |
| Hurricane Nicole | Hurricane | Nov 7, 2022 |
| Hurricane Ian | Hurricane | Sep 23, 2022 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Sep 26, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 30, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 12, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Tropical Storm | Nov 10, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 7, 2021 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2020 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jul 24, 2019 | 0.00K |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 1, 2016 | 0.00K |
Hurricane (Typhoon) — Sep 26, 2024
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a category 4 with peak winds of near 140 mph in the Florida Big |Bend just east of the Aucilla River Entrance in Taylor County, late Thursday evening September 26, |2024. Helene's main impact to southeast Georgia and northeast Florida was wind damage as it |tracked quickly north-northeast. The very powerful hurricane and the forward motion produced a |wide swa...
Flash Flood — Aug 5, 2024
Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 storm along the FL Big Bend coast during the early morning of August 5, 2024. Prior to landfall, outer convective bands produced tornadoes across portions of northeast Florida on August 4th. Widespread flooding moved inland with Debby across the Suwannee River Valley and inland Southeast Georgia where flash flooding and moderate to major river flood...
Tropical Storm — Aug 4, 2024
Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 storm along the FL Big Bend coast during the early morning of August 5, 2024. Prior to landfall, outer convective bands produced tornadoes across portions of northeast Florida on August 4th. Widespread flooding moved inland with Debby across the Suwannee River Valley and inland Southeast Georgia where flash flooding and moderate to major river flood...
Hurricane (Typhoon) — Aug 30, 2023
Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning August 30th around 745 AM EDT along the|Florida Big Bend near Keaton Beach as a category 3, with the inner core moving NE across the|Suwannee River Valley. The inner wind core of Idalia gradually weakened through the morning while,|heavily impacting Suwannee and Hamilton counties in NE Florida and Echols county SE Georgia as the|circulation track...
Flood — Mar 12, 2022
A frontal boundary was draped across north Florida as a strong short wave trough passed overhead. A flood watch was in effect due to already saturated ground where 2-3 inches of rainfall occurred over the past 2 days, prior to the flooding rainfall that occurred with this event. Flooding occurred in Gainesville near UF. Other areas measured heavy rainfall, some 2 day totals were 7-10 inches in ...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Suwannee County, Florida:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Suwannee County, Florida that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.