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Sarasota County, FL flood insurance claims history

14,415 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Sarasota County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $856.6M on them. The worst year was 2024 with 7,847 claims. Sarasota County ranks #10 of 67 in Florida by claim count.

At a glance

  • 12% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 34% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Helene (2024), which paid $620.1M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 86% of the 67 Florida counties with any claims on file — and more than all 3 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 34242 has the most claims in the county (4,460, 31%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
14,415
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$856.6M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
73%
10,542 received a payment
Average payout
$81K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
9,681
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-08-16
data as of 2026-09-07

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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 7,847 claims in 2024
 
 
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Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Sarasota County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Helene4,953$620.1M$125K2024
Hurricane Milton2,160$76.4M$35K2024
Hurricane Ian1,293$58.6M$45K2022
Flooding (FEMA general label)895$6.4M$7K1992
Hurricane Debby615$45.4M$74K2024
The 'No-Name Storm'478$1.5M$3K1982
Hurricane Elena393$2.5M$6K1985
Torrential rain (FEMA general label)339$3.7M$11K2001
Blizzard of 1993223$1.7M$7K1993
Hurricane Josephine187$2.5M$13K1996
Flooding (FEMA general label)173$1.2M$7K1988
Hurricane Irma126$1.1M$9K2017

82% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

High-risk A zones: 11,433 (79%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 1,096 (8%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 1,785 (12%)Zone not recorded: 101 (1%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)11,433$735.5M$64K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)1,096$76.1M$69K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)1,785$44.2M$25K
Zone not recorded101$820K$8K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt7,37251%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)4,67632%
Other causes1,1428%
Stream, river or lake overflow9687%
Not recorded2091%
Alluvial fan overflow410%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Sarasota County

53 ZIP codes in Sarasota County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Sarasota County.

342424,460$347.8M31%442026
342231,350$80.0M9%302024
342361,179$109.1M8%352026
342851,111$63.3M8%362026
34275912$56.2M6%362025
34228852$48.0M6%402025
34232741$20.1M5%332025
34231699$24.8M5%412025
34293681$22.7M5%322024
34292408$9.8M3%202024
34239314$15.4M2%322025
34287290$11.2M2%272025
34237269$10.8M2%162024
34234184$5.9M1%272024
34229180$5.1M1%262026
34240146$12.7M1%122024
3424184$1.7M1%212026
3429179$4.4M1%72022
3428675$2.4M1%62022
3423865$577K0%192024
3423549$1.6M0%182024
3423336$1.5M0%112024
3354831$125K0%51996
3357728$103K0%72001
3358127$49K0%92000
3359523$148K0%101998
3423022$223K0%142024
3358221$121K0%21997
3357815$49K0%21985
12$21K0%51992
3424312$33K0%92024
335807$27K0%41997
342887$181K0%12022
335335$21K0%31995
335795$5K0%31998
335594$2K0%11982
335554$2K0%42004
342784$8K0%31992
335964$10K0%31992
335524$23K0%41993
342722$00%11992
342962$35K0%21998
342242$171K0%22024
342891$17K0%12022
333331$00%11996
342511$5K0%12017
662051$177K0%12024
342841$00%11981
339781$4460%11981
320841$00%11995
342741$9220%11982
342951$5K0%12001
342071$2K0%11997

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Sarasota County flood?

September accounts for the most flood losses (7,104 claims, 49%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January771%
February680%
March3472%
April390%
May500%
June1,86113%
July3743%
August1,39510%
September7,10449%
October2,57918%
November4523%
December690%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20269$0
202518$33K
20247,847$746.1M
2023146$9.0M
20221,316$58.8M
20216$47K
202097$4.8M
201916$28K
201824$234K
2017202$2.8M
201644$518K
201511$21K
201411$386
201336$223K
201283$342K
20116$30K
201011$23K
20098$39K
200811$28K
20077$60K
20069$24K
200551$211K
200449$1.1M
2003239$3.6M
200218$16K
2001374$3.8M
200052$549K
199955$570K
1998110$332K
1997242$3.3M
1996208$2.5M
1995443$3.0M
199415$13K
1993238$1.7M
1992935$6.5M
199112$27K
19908$4K
198910$0
1988199$1.3M
198762$262K
19866$17K
1985445$2.6M
19845$18K
198351$240K
1982510$1.6M
1981109$168K
198012$3K
197926$9K
197813$25K

Neighboring counties

Sarasota County borders 3 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Sarasota County (this page)14,415$856.6M12%
Charlotte County11,697$475.5M4%
Manatee County11,389$650.6M7%
DeSoto County453$17.1M14%

All 67 Florida counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Sarasota County

Has Sarasota County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-16, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (9,681 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 12% of Sarasota County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 12115, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.