Fortifying Your Home:
Part 1: This article
Part 2: A Homeowner’s Guide to Flood Mitigation
Part 3: Flood Insurance Options
Florida is a large mostly flat coastal state
Florida is a very flat state compared to most. The highest point, Britton Hill in Laurel Wood Park is a mere 345 feet above sea level in Walton County. While portions of the Everglades are below sea level!
Further, Florida features 1,350 miles of ocean coastline. The most of any US state with frequent tropical storms and hurricanes. The reality is most of Florida is at risk of flooding either from heavy rainfall or storm wave surges.
Storm surges can push water as far as 25 miles inland with as much as 15 feet (hurricane Ian 2022) to 25 feet of water (hurricane Katrina 2005).
What is a Flood?
The short answer, “An excess of water on land that is normally dry,” is a simple explanation, but most of the time, that doesn’t result in an event where flood insurance will come into play.
The official definition used by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) states:
“A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property).
What is typically not a flood for insurance purposes?
- Water leaks inside your home. Examples include failed pipes, leaky appliance supply lines, or a burst water heater,
- Roof leaks or wind damage which allow rain inside your home
- Water line failure from the street to your home
- Public water main failure
Flood Zone Risks
FEMA has developed a flood risk system, working with participating communities (most of Florida participates, but not all!), to designate flood risk into four categories: High, Moderate, Minimal, and Unknown.
Each category is then divided into more discrete subcategories primarily based on distance from water sources (ocean, river, lake), property elevation, available drainage, and presence of community mitigation such as levees.
The National Flood Insurance Program uses the FEMA model exclusively.
The image to the right is the Risk Factor map of the 30A from Grayton Beach through Panama City. The darker the color, the greater the flood risk.
Coastal property owners are at high risk of damage from flooding due to storm surges. Hurricane Ian in September 2022 was a particularly nasty storm that flooded much of the west coast of Florida.
Slow moving tropical storms as “Fay” can flood inland regions with tremendous amounts of rain.
There are competing flood risk tools such as Risk Factor which private flood insurers may use in addition to or in lieu of the FEMA model. This is why private flood insurance can sometimes be cheaper than NFIP quotes.
| FEMA Zone | Short Description |
|---|---|
| A | Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event are generally determined using approximate methodologies. |
| AE, A1-A30 | Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event determined by detailed methods. Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) are shown. |
| AH | Areas subject to inundation by 1-percent-annual-chance shallow flooding, typically areas of ponding, where average depths are between one and three feet. Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) derived from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown in this zone. |
| AO | Areas subject to inundation by 1-percent-annual-chance shallow flooding, usually sheet flow on sloping terrain, where average depths are between one and three feet. Average flood depths derived from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown in this zone. |
| AR | Areas that result from the decertification of a previously accredited flood protection system that is determined to be in the process of being restored to provide base flood protection. |
| A99 | Areas are subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, but will ultimately be protected upon completion of an under-construction Federal flood protection system. These are areas of special flood hazard where enough progress has been made on the construction of a protection system, such as dikes, dams, and levees, to consider it complete for insurance rating purposes. |
| V | Areas along coasts are subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event with additional hazards associated with storm-induced waves. |
| VE, V1-V30 | Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event with additional hazards due to storm-induced velocity wave action. Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) derived from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown. |
| D | Areas with possible but undetermined flood risk. |
| X (shaded), B | Areas of moderate flood hazard between limits of the 1-percent-annual-chance floodplain and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance floodplain. |
| X (unshaded), C | Areas of minimal flood hazards outside 0.2-percent-annual-chance floodplain. |
Reality Check
Florida has witnessed a cyclical increase in major hurricane frequency, with 4 in the past seven years. Is that a high for Florida? No, it’s not. Florida had seven major hurricanes between 1944 and 1950! That’s an average of one per year.
On the other hand, Florida had just eight major hurricanes between 1951 and 1995, with an average of one every 5 ½ years! Since 1996, Florida has averaged a major hurricane every 3.4 years. Furthermore, Florida, as we noted, is an extensive state; therefore, landfall and paths can and will vary dramatically.
To the right is a map of Florida hurricane paths from the NOAA Historical Hurricane website.
This is why Floodplain models refer to 100-year events and 500-year events. While the odds of a major hurricane coming to your town for an individual year are low, over a 30-year mortgage, the cumulative odds of significant flooding can reach 1 in 4 in high-risk flood zones.
Conclusion: Why do I need flood insurance in Florida?
Florida is uniquely vulnerable to flooding, most anywhere in the state. While the frequency of flooding may be low, if a 100-year event comes to your part of the Sunshine State, you may suffer a catastrophic loss of your treasured home. Without flood insurance protection, your standard home insurance policy will not cover your loss. Fortunately, should you live in an area of minimal risk, the cost of the policy will be very affordable.
Some count on help from a federal emergency declaration, which will provide funding to those in need. These funds may help those who suffer a partial loss, but they will never cover more than a tiny portion of a catastrophic loss. After Hurricane Ian, FEMA provided $1.13 billion in grants to more than 386,000 households in 26 counties, an average of less than $3,000 to households with an approved grant request.
Bottom line. Flood insurance is essential for most Florida homeowners.
This is part 1 of a 3-part series. Continue to Part 2.