After Hurricane Isaias: How to Check Flood Records for a Florida Panhandle Home

Hurricane Isaias came ashore on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday after strengthening into a Category 3 hurricane, the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season. The National Hurricane Center had warned of storm surge of up to 6 to 9 feet between the Alabama-Florida line and Grayton Beach, with heavy rain spreading across the Florida Panhandle, the Big Bend, and the Southeast through the weekend.

If your home, or a home you're buying, was in the path, here's what to do first, how flood insurance and FEMA aid work, and how to read an address's flood record.

Start with safety and photos

• Stay out of floodwater. It can hide washed-out roads, sharp debris, and live wires, and it often carries sewage.
• Photograph and video every room, the waterline on the walls, and damaged belongings before you clean up or throw anything away.
• Make temporary repairs that stop more damage, like tarping a roof or pulling up wet carpet, and keep the receipts.
• Write down when the water came in, how high it got, and when it went down.

Flood damage is a flood insurance claim

Standard homeowners policies don't cover flooding from storm surge or rain. If you have a flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, report the claim as soon as you can. NFIP policyholders usually have 60 days from the loss to send a signed proof of loss, and FEMA often extends that after big storms.

If the President declares a major disaster for your county, FEMA's Individual Assistance can help with temporary housing and repairs, mostly for costs insurance doesn't cover. You can apply at DisasterAssistance.gov (opens in a new tab) or by calling 800-621-3362.

Check an address's flood record

FloodMaps covers every Florida county. For any Panhandle address, you can see:

• Its FEMA flood zone today, including the coastal V zones and Coastal A areas where waves add to the surge.
• FEMA's draft map, if FEMA has issued one for the county, and whether it would change the zone.
• Flood insurance claims per 100 homes in the neighborhood from past storms like Michael in 2018 and Sally in 2020, plus FEMA and county damage inspections.
• How high the ground sits at the house and across the lot, compared with FEMA's flood line.
• Peak water levels at the nearest tide and stream gauges in past storms.

Isaias's own records take time. FEMA publishes flood insurance claims and damage inspections weeks to months after a storm, and we'll add Isaias to reports as they come out.

Buying, selling, or renting after a storm

A hurricane changes what a buyer should ask. Check the address's flood zone and past storm claims, ask whether the home took water in Isaias or earlier storms, and ask for any elevation certificate. Lenders require flood insurance in high-risk zones, and an NFIP policy usually takes 30 days to start, so price coverage early.

Panhandle flood maps

Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, Okaloosa County, Walton County, Bay County, Gulf County, Franklin County, and the city of Pensacola.

Check an address to see its flood zone free. FloodMaps reports are estimates from public data, not a survey, an Elevation Certificate, a flood zone determination, or an insurance quote.