Natural Disasters in Vero Beach, FL

Hazard risk, disaster history, and FEMA data

Natural Hazard Risk

Source: FEMA National Risk Index

Risk Score

95.6

Relatively High

Expected Annual Loss

94.7

Score (0-100)

Social Vulnerability

64.2

Score (0-100)

Community Resilience

60.5

Score (0-100)

Top Hazard Risks

Hurricane99.2Lightning94.4Wildfire88.2

Hazard	Risk Score
Hurricane	99.2
Lightning	94.4
Wildfire	88.2
Strong Wind	86.3
Tornado	72.5
Coastal Flood	69.0
Heat Wave	63.1
Drought	63.0
Cold Wave	39.0
Earthquake	32.3
Landslide	13.9
Hail	13.1

Scores range from 0 (lowest risk) to 100 (highest risk) relative to all U.S. communities. Data from FEMA National Risk Index.

Disaster Declarations

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA

Total Declarations

Most Recent

Hurricane

Oct 2024

Most Common Type

Hurricane

22 declarations

Date	Type	Declaration
Oct 11, 2024	Hurricane	HURRICANE MILTON
Oct 7, 2024	Hurricane	HURRICANE MILTON
Dec 13, 2022	Hurricane	HURRICANE NICOLE
Nov 8, 2022	Tropical Storm	TROPICAL STORM NICOLE
Sep 29, 2022	Hurricane	HURRICANE IAN
Sep 24, 2022	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORM IAN
Aug 1, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE ISAIAS
Mar 25, 2020	Biological	COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Mar 13, 2020	Biological	COVID-19
Oct 21, 2019	Hurricane	HURRICANE DORIAN
Aug 30, 2019	Hurricane	HURRICANE DORIAN
Sep 10, 2017	Hurricane	HURRICANE IRMA
Sep 5, 2017	Hurricane	HURRICANE IRMA
Oct 8, 2016	Hurricane	HURRICANE MATTHEW
Oct 6, 2016	Hurricane	HURRICANE MATTHEW
Aug 21, 2008	Severe Storm	TROPICAL STORM FAY
Jun 27, 2007	Fire	OKEECHOBEE FIRE COMPLEX
Oct 24, 2005	Hurricane	HURRICANE WILMA
Sep 5, 2005	Hurricane	HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION
Sep 26, 2004	Hurricane	HURRICANE JEANNE

Showing 20 of 35 declarations

Individual Assistance

Source: FEMA Housing Assistance

Total IA Registrations

54,517

Total IA Distributed

$47,130,371

Repair/Replace

$11,547,116

Rental Assistance

$7,257,529

Disaster	Registrations	Total IA $	Avg Damage
DR-4341	4	N/A	—
DR-4844	1	N/A	—
DR-4675	17	N/A	—
DR-4673	2	N/A	—
DR-1561	16,205	$19,441,541	$3,265
DR-1545	18,226	$15,692,604	$4,167
DR-4834	8,093	$5,378,870	$3,820
DR-4337	9,758	$4,463,449	$467
DR-4486	238	$1,033,556	—
DR-1609	1,196	$825,819	$1,185

Showing top 10 of 14 disasters by IA amount

Individual and household assistance for homeowners and renters affected by federally declared disasters.

Flood Insurance (NFIP)

Source: FEMA NFIP

Total Claims

3,348

Total Claims Paid

$67,001,981

Avg Claim Payout

$20,013

County-level NFIP data from FEMA National Flood Insurance Program.

Disaster Recovery Spending

Source: FEMA Public Assistance

Total Federal Spending

$120,551,141

Disasters with PA

Total Projects

1,203

Disaster	Type	Projects	Federal $
DR-1545	Hurricane	335	$32,396,287
DR-1561	Hurricane	382	$31,446,696
DR-4283	Hurricane	50	$12,142,551
DR-4337	Hurricane	73	$11,546,117
DR-4680	Hurricane	38	$7,988,749
DR-4486	Biological	11	$6,199,111
DR-4468	Hurricane	19	$6,135,158
DR-4834	Hurricane	44	$4,376,798
DR-4673	Hurricane	24	$3,086,035
DR-1609	Hurricane	153	$3,083,889
DR-1300	Hurricane	34	$1,082,620
DR-1306	Hurricane	34	$862,538
DR-3288	Severe Storm(s)	3	$110,909
DR-3533	Hurricane	2	$85,208
DR-1539	Hurricane	1	$8,476

Hazard Mitigation

Source: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance

Mitigation Projects

Federal Funding

$2,268,316

Properties Protected

Avg Benefit-Cost Ratio

5.73

BCR

Top Mitigation Project Types

Project Type	Projects	Federal $
205.8: Retrofitting Public Structures - Wind	8	$1,747,577
300.2: Vegetation Management - Wildfire	6	$514,177
95.1: FMA or CRS Plan	2	$0
205.7: Retrofitting Private Structures - Wind	1	$6,562

Federally funded projects to reduce future disaster risk. Only includes completed or obligated projects.

Vero Beach has a relatively high overall natural hazard risk rating according to FEMA's National Risk Index. The top hazard risks are hurricane, lightning, wildfire. The area has had 35 federal disaster declarations. The most common disaster type is hurricane (22 declarations). 3,348 flood insurance claims have been filed in the area. FEMA has obligated $120,551,141 in public assistance recovery funding. $47,130,371 has been distributed in individual assistance to disaster-affected residents. 17 hazard mitigation projects have been funded to reduce future risk.