693 flood insurance claims·$37.3M paid·15 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 Taylor 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.
Taylor County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by tropical storms, flash floods, and hurricane-related storm surges. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 29 tropical storm events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 15 flash flood events, 14 hurricanes, 12 storm surge or tide events, and 10 standard flood events.
Recent history highlights the severity of these impacts. In April 2024, a major flash flood brought heavy rainfall and rapid water rises across the region, resulting in flooded structures and millions of dollars in damage. Later that year, Hurricane Debby made landfall along the Taylor County coast as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, 2024, generating coastal storm surge flooding and approximately 12 inches of rainfall that led to widespread flooding in Taylor and Madison counties.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in coastal and high-risk zones face the most substantial financial impacts. Zone V accounts for 332 claims with an average payout of $67,653 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches, while Zone A records 330 claims averaging $63,728 with an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties in shaded and unshaded Zone X experienced fewer claims with lower average water depths of 5 and 4 inches, respectively. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zones V and A should pay the closest attention to flood mitigation and insurance requirements.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Taylor County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
678 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 11 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 194 claims and $24.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes, 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.
56 NOAA storm reports from Taylor County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
40 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 15 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 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 10, 2024 |
| Hurricane Idalia | Aug 27, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Idalia | Aug 27, 2023 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
80 since 1996: 15 flash floods, 10 river or area floods and 12 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Sep 26, 2024 | $1.0B |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Sep 26, 2024 | $200.0M |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 26, 2024 | $800.0M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 9, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 5, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Aug 5, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
Flash Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A major flash flood event occurred across portions of the Florida big bend and southern Georgia during the late night hours of April 10th through the early morning hours of April 11th. Between 6 and 10 inches of rain fell with localized higher amounts, particularly over Tallahassee. This resulted in rapid water rises across Tallahassee with numerous cars and structures flooded. Several million dollars in flood…
Tropical Storm · Oct 9, 2024. Major Hurricane Milton moved across the Florida peninsula and brought fringe impacts across portions of the coastal big bend with winds to tropical storm force. Rainfall amounts were less than three inches, and surge was negligible.
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 Taylor 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.