Flood Information

If you are looking for Hurricane Milton information, please visit www.SarasotaFL.gov/Alerts.

The City of Sarasota

The City of Sarasota offers flood information by request. Some of the many services offered are, but not limited to, flood zones, elevation requirements, building requirements in a special flood hazard area (flood zone), flood depths, substantial improvement/damage requirements and can make site visits to advise on protection measures for both new and existing building. Please contact the Flood Zone information line at 941-263-6354.

The Community Rating System (CRS)

The City of Sarasota participates in the CRS which recognizes community efforts beyond Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) minimum standards by reducing flood insurance premiums for the community’s property owners. The City of Sarasota presently has a CRS Class 5 designation, allowing flood plain insurance policy holders up to a 25% reduction in their flood insurance premiums, less additional non-policy fees associated with their premiums.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

which makes federally guaranteed flood insurance available for all eligible buildings, whether they are in a floodplain or not, offers reasonable priced flood insurance in communities that participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) by complying with minimum standards for floodplain management. Flood insurance in the City of Sarasota is available to all owners of insurable property. Owners and renters may insure their personal property against flood loss, as well. Condominiums are also eligible for flood insurance protection.

Watershed Master Plan

The Watershed Master Plan (WMP) is a tool for future flood mitigation and to increase resiliency in our community for flooding. The objective of watershed master planning is to provide the community with a tool it can use to make decisions that will reduce the increased flooding from future conditions that include new development, redevelopment, and the impact of climate change and sea level rise, throughout a watershed or community.

The City of Sarasota participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Communities in the NFIP can participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) to provide the community with a discount to NFIP flood insurance policies. Currently the City is a Class 5 community in the CRS and the NFIP policies in the City jurisdiction receive a 25% discount on NFIP flood insurance policies. For the City of Sarasota to progress to a Class 4 community and receive a 30% discount for the Community Rating System (CRS) the City is required to have an adopted Watershed Master Plan. After the WMP has been completed and adopted by the Commissioners, the City can qualify for the Class 4 rating. When a Class 4 is achieved by the City, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Policies would qualify for a 30% discount on the flood insurance policies for the properties located within the City jurisdiction.

In late 2022, the City of Sarasota applied for and was awarded from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Watershed Planning Initiative grant to develop the Watershed Master Plan (WMP) for our area. In 2023, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) was contracted to develop this plan.

The WMP will identify recommendations for potential changes to stormwater management regulations, areas to improve upon the existing stormwater system infrastructure, recommendations for new structural and non-structural practices, and procedures to protect and acquire sensitive natural areas and flood-prone properties. The plan will help prioritize mitigation projects for the community and specify dedicated funding sources.

For questions on the WMP please email floodinfo@sarasotafl.gov.

To find your Flood Risk please go to https://www.floodsmart.gov/know-your-risk

To view the public meeting held May 1, 2025 with Florida Atlantic University click WMP_Outreach_Zoom_Recording.mp4

Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS)

The City of Sarasota is vulnerable to natural hazards including the effect of flood and wind damage caused by hurricanes, tropical storms, winter storms, tornadoes, and wildfires. With a sizable amount of the City’s land in a floodplain, an aging population, and history of natural hazard damages, it is clear that a focus on hazard mitigation will likely go a long way to benefiting the overall well-being of the City’s residents. The City of Sarasota is a member of the Sarasota County Unified Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group that has been formed in accordance with the requirements of the 2000 Disaster Management Act and will provide the City and its citizens a better understanding of the natural hazards the City faces. The plan is available in the “Publication Library”.

FEMA Flood Zone Designations

Flood zones are geographic areas that the FEMA has defined according to varying levels of flood risk. These zones are depicted on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or Flood Hazard Boundary Map. Each zone reflects the severity or type of flooding in the area.

Moderate to Low Risk Areas

In communities that participate in the NFIP, flood insurance is available to all property owners and renters:

Zone X (unshaded)

Area of minimal flood hazard, usually depicted on FIRMs as above the 500-year flood level. Zone C may have ponding and local drainage problems that don't warrant a detailed study or designation as base floodplain. Zone X is the area determined to be outside the 500-year flood and protected by levee from 100-year flood.

Zone X (shaded)

Area of moderate flood hazard, usually the area between the limits of the 100-year and 500-year floods. B Zones are also used to designate base floodplains of lesser hazards, such as areas protected by levees from 100-year flood, or shallow flooding areas with average depths of less than one foot or drainage areas less than 1 square mile.

High Risk Areas

In communities that participate in the NFIP, mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply to all of these zones with a federal backed mortgage:

Zone A

Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Because detailed analyses are not performed for such areas; no depths or base flood elevations are shown within these zones.

Zone AE

The base floodplain where base flood elevations are provided. AE Zones is now used on new format FIRMs instead of A1-A30 Zones.

Zone AH

Areas with a 1% annual chance of shallow flooding, usually in the form of a pond, with an average depth ranging from 1 to 3 feet. These areas have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.

Zone AO

River or stream flood hazard areas, and areas with a 1% or greater chance of shallow flooding each year, usually in the form of sheet flow, with an average depth ranging from 1 to 3 feet. These areas have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Average flood depths derived from detailed analyses are shown within these zones.

High Risk Coastal Areas

In communities that participate in the NFIP, mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply to all of these zones with a federal backed mortgage:

Zone VE, V1 - 30

Coastal areas with a 1% or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves. These areas have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.

Coastal A Zones

Designated by a LIMWA (Limit of Moderate Wave Action) line is an area landward of a V Zone, or landward of an open coast without mapped V Zones. In a Coastal A Zone, the principal source of flooding will be astronomical tides, storm surges, seiches or tsunamis, not riverine flooding. During base flood conditions, the potential for breaking wave heights between 1.5 feet and 3.0 feet will exist.

Learn about Flood Insurance