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Palm Beach County, FL flood insurance claims history

10,758 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Palm Beach County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $72.3M on them. The worst year was 2004 with 1,926 claims. Palm Beach County ranks #14 of 67 in Florida by claim count.

At a glance

  • 50% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 11% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Frances (2004), which paid $11.4M 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 80% of the 67 Florida counties with any claims on file — and more than 4 of its 5 neighbors.
  • ZIP 33480 has the most claims in the county (1,354, 13%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
10,758
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$72.3M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
44%
4,689 received a payment
Average payout
$15K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
1,059
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-09-02
data as of 2026-09-07

Look up your ZIP code

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: 1,926 claims in 2004
 
 
'80
 
 
 
 
'85
 
 
 
 
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'95
 
 
 
 
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'15
 
 
 
 
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'25
 

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 Palm Beach County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Frances1,203$11.4M$9K2004
Hurricane Irene1,194$6.4M$5K1999
Hurricane Wilma710$1.1M$2K2005
Flooding (FEMA general label)625$722K$1K1979
Hurricane Jeanne616$4.6M$7K2004
Hurricane Irma423$4.2M$10K2017
Hurricane Isaac256$1.5M$6K2012
Flooding (FEMA general label)243$318K$1K1982
Flooding (FEMA general label)138$176K$1K1984
Tropical Storm Fay77$101K$1K2008
Tropical Storm Mitch71$661K$9K1998
Flooding (FEMA general label)67$17K$2571981

52% 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: 5,138 (48%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 75 (1%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 5,213 (48%)Zone not recorded: 332 (3%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)5,138$38.4M$7K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)75$1.0M$14K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)5,213$32.5M$6K
Zone not recorded332$342K$1K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt6,06056%
Other causes1,80117%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)1,57815%
Not recorded6286%
Stream, river or lake overflow5976%
Earth movement or landslide651%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Palm Beach County

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

334801,354$16.6M13%452025
33428559$1.4M5%412026
33433503$2.4M5%442025
33435450$2.5M4%352025
33410401$3.0M4%312026
33445395$1.1M4%372023
33462386$3.2M4%352024
33483380$2.0M4%372022
33458378$2.7M4%342024
33404351$2.5M3%322025
33487284$1.7M3%342025
33418272$1.4M3%332025
33408272$1.3M3%352025
33477259$1.9M2%352024
33426252$682K2%272023
33432237$7.3M2%382025
33414237$647K2%322024
33461231$1.5M2%272025
33437192$461K2%382025
33406189$1.1M2%282024
33436188$285K2%302025
33446184$876K2%342026
33411178$1.1M2%322025
33401177$1.8M2%292026
33460175$1.0M2%302026
33467171$531K2%322024
33469161$752K1%252020
33496139$1.3M1%302026
33405137$583K1%342026
33409129$723K1%272024
33431128$1.8M1%242025
33484127$725K1%262022
33444124$355K1%242024
33486118$570K1%312025
33403106$668K1%172022
33470105$518K1%172024
33498103$306K1%242023
3340784$387K1%232025
3346379$251K1%172025
3343478$447K1%282024
3347275$202K1%212025
3347871$467K1%142024
3341566$380K1%192025
3341754$121K1%182024
49$53K0%91999
3344940$214K0%182026
3341237$87K0%172025
3347616$46K0%92025
3343011$27K0%82020
3341311$1K0%72022
3377710$15K0%21999
3347310$23K0%82024
334008$368K0%62001
334024$00%31998
334553$47K0%32004
322662$4140%21994
334272$2K0%21999
334162$9K0%22000
334932$00%22026
334682$2K0%11978
333011$00%11995
334381$00%11999
333001$00%12004
334401$11K0%12005
334251$13K0%11998
334471$3750%11979
331461$00%11994
335611$00%11983
342211$10K0%12024
324561$4K0%11985

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

When does Palm Beach County flood?

October accounts for the most flood losses (3,086 claims, 29%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January6656%
February1441%
March5335%
April9409%
May2302%
June2843%
July1662%
August6916%
September2,68525%
October3,08629%
November8588%
December4764%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
202610$68K
202599$6.9M
202451$535K
202323$48K
202263$979K
202149$130K
2020131$1.0M
201963$1.1M
201854$255K
2017516$4.6M
2016116$1.4M
201572$450K
2014369$5.1M
2013115$1.0M
2012423$2.8M
201189$893K
201041$168K
200998$268K
2008128$248K
200755$180K
2006124$1.8M
2005814$1.4M
20041,926$16.5M
200341$58K
200253$51K
2001115$727K
2000160$1.3M
19991,500$8.6M
1998313$2.3M
199730$8K
199628$8K
1995606$6.2M
1994222$736K
199355$202K
1992104$311K
1991142$1.4M
19904$710
198923$26K
198820$24K
198729$42K
198610$11K
198519$12K
1984174$190K
198395$53K
1982589$867K
1981113$90K
198028$18K
1979726$784K
1978130$262K

Neighboring counties

Palm Beach County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Palm Beach County (this page)10,758$72.3M50%
Broward County35,049$457.9M11%
Martin County2,631$40.0M40%
Okeechobee County295$1.9M26%
Hendry County132$742K25%
Glades County56$394K18%

All 67 Florida counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Palm Beach County

Has Palm Beach County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-09-02, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (1,059 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 50% of Palm Beach 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 12099, 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.