Flood hazard and the National Flood Insurance Program

What is the risk of flooding in Lee County?

In Lee County, flood risk generally results from tropical storms, hurricanes and related coastal wave surges or from sheet flow.Sheet flow is the natural drainage of surface water south through the Florida peninsula to the Everglades.

Formal assessment of the flood risk in Lee County has been conducted by FEMA for flood mapping analysis and by the Lee County Public Safety Department as part of its Local Mitigation Strategy.

FEMA published information about the principal flooding problems here as part of its 2008 Flood Insurance Study in its 2014 Coastal Discovery Report points out that not all storms which pass close to the area produce either coastal storm surge or flooding along rivers, creeks, canals and other interior waterways.In the past 50 years, Lee County has been included in 14 federally declared disasters.The most recent was Tropical Storm Debby in July 2012.Not all of these events result in flooding and significant flood insurance claims.

In the past 20 years, there have been 28 flood occurrences which resulted in property damage in Lee County and its municipalities and flood claims. Of those, eight were for claims of $20,000 or less.The incident with the highest value of claims occurred in the unusually high rainy season of 1995 which resulted in flood insurance claims throughout Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties valued at $10 million.

How will I be notified of a flood-related disaster?

In addition to traditional communication through mass media, Lee County Emergency Management will notify residents individually of dangerous flooding through multiple methods of outreach, including:

CodeRed– A free telephone, text or email service

LeeEvac for iPhone – A free app for Apple devices that pushes evacuation notifications in real time during emergencies and which also allows users to search for evacuation zones by street address

LeeEvac for Android – A free app for Android devices that pushes evacuation notifications in real time during emergencies and which also allows users to search for evacuation zones by street address or by GPS

Facebook – This Facebook page posts real time updates about emergency conditions and always offers general preparedness information

Twitter – There are two Twitter accounts:@LeeEOC- offers purely emergency information;
@LCEMFL- offers also includes general and preparedness information

IPAWS – Lee County Public Safety is a FEMA Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) Alerting Authority.We can utilize the IPAWS to alert and warn Lee County residents and visitors about serious emergencies through various means, including the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio.See FEMA’s IPAWS website for more information:

How does Lee County address flood emergencies?

Lee County joined the National Flood Insurance Program in 1984.As a result:

  • Property owners here may purchase flood insurance policies through the NFIP.
  • FEMA will provide disaster assistance here in the event of a federally declared disaster.
  • FEMA routinely assesses the risk of flooding here and updates Flood Insurance Risk Maps.

In addition, Lee County and all of its municipalities participate in the NFIP’s Community Rating System, which provides a discount in the cost of the flood insurance policy.

What do I need to know about flooding and flood insurance?

Know your flood hazard

  • Learn about historic flooding in Lee County in FEMA’s 2009 Flood Insurance Rate Study and 2014 Coastal Discovery Report.
  • Look up your flood zone through two online search engines:“Find My Flood Zone” offers a quick look up by address.Lee Spins provides a more in-depth research tool based on geographic information systems (GIS).
  • In Lee County, flood zones which begin with an “A” or a “V” require flood insurance if the property is mortgaged.Read the definitions of flood zones.

Insure your property for your flood hazard

  • Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. The National Flood Insurance Program reports that nearly 20 percent of flood insurance claims are for property in moderate to low-risk areas.
  • Most property/casualty insurance does not cover flood damage.TheNational Flood Insurance Program(NFIP), is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is a federal provider of flood insurance policies.
  • Flood insurance is required for mortgages on structures in areas designated as aSpecial Flood Hazard Area High Hazard Area. about the mandatory purchase of flood insurance.
  • Even if your property is in a low-risk zone, take advantage of the preferred rate policy for flood insurance.An existing policy offers rate advantages if the property is mapped into a higher-risk category in the future.
  • If you don’t have a mortgage and are not required to have flood insurance, consider getting an NFIP policy anyway.In addition to the insurance coverage, it may also be an advantage if you sell the property to a buyer who finances with a mortgage. The policy will transfer to the new owner, possibly offering some grandfathering discounts for pricing.
  • You don’t have to own your home or business to get an NFIP policy.The NFIP offers insurance for renters’ possessions.
  • Learn more about flood insurance at

Protect yourself, your family and your employees from flood hazard

  • Stay out of flood waters.They can contain dangerous chemicals from gasoline, oil, industrial and household compounds, and sewage.
  • If you see standing water in a road – Turn Around; Don’t Drown. Don’t drive or walk through rising water.

Protect your property from flood hazard

  • In addition to getting flood insurance, visit FEMA’s virtual library to learn how to protect structures.

Build responsibly:

  • Check with your jurisdiction to see if your project requires a building permit
  • Bonita Springs
  • Cape Coral
  • Fort Myers
  • Fort Myers Beach
  • Sanibel
  • Unincorporated Lee County
  • If your property is in the Special Flood Hazard Area, it must meet a base flood elevation and other National Flood Insurance regulations. Learn about them at
  • Consider the advantages of building higher than the base flood elevation.Doing so will lower the cost of flood insurance and will lessen the risk of flood damage.
  • Agricultural buildings in the Special Flood Hazard area – anything in an A, AE or V zone – are NOT exempt from National Flood Insurance Program construction requirements, even though they are exempt from the Florida Building Code.
  • Fill and construction are prohibited in regulatory floodways unless the work us permitted by a No Rise Certification.

Protect natural floodplain functions

  • Protection and restoration of natural flowways helps ensure proper surface water management to mitigate the effects of storms or sheet flow.
  • Maintenance of drainage ditches, weirs and canals, sewer systems and other water conveyances helps ensure proper surface water management to mitigate the effects of storms or sheet flow.

Learn more:

  • Look up floodzonesand base flood elevationsfor specific parcels by address.
  • Obtain copies ofFEMA Elevation Certificates for structures in:
  • Bonita Springs
  • Cape Coral
  • Fort Myers
  • Fort Myers Beach
  • Sanibel
  • Unincorporated Lee County
  • Download copies of currentFlood Insurance Rate Map panels.
  • Research recentchanges to the flood maps.
  • Read the 2008 Flood Insurance Studyfor Lee County.