Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cudjoe Key

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Bat Tower-Sugarloaf KeyBat Tower-Sugarloaf Key · Photo: Averette at en.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Cudjoe Key · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Cudjoe Key, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cudjoe Key gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (54%), then coastal flooding (41%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 54%Coastal flooding 41%River and rain flooding 5%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in Florida · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
54% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 35 declared for Monroe County

What stands out about Cudjoe Key’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Coastal flooding: the top 1% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts; it is 41.2% of the damage it expects.Made safer with FEMA grants8 buildings retrofitted against wind with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Cudjoe Key faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

54%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Coastal flooding

41%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

5%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 97% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Earthquakes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Winter stormsIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Cudjoe Key’s grade

Hurricanes are 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cudjoe Key, and Cudjoe Key’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 41%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Cudjoe Key sits
Cudjoe Key
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Cudjoe Key’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes54%Coastal flooding41%River and rain flooding5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Cudjoe Key: $2.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, FEMA took 1,006 aid registrations from Cudjoe Key addresses (the town has 1,644 homes).
Shared tract.All of Cudjoe Key’s 2,019 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Cudjoe Key flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cudjoe Key. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Cudjoe Key isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Monroe County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
8buildings retrofitted against wind
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cudjoe Key

Disasters that paid out in Cudjoe Key itself (aid to households or repair grants to Cudjoe Key), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2022Hurricane Ian15 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
  2. 2017Hurricane Irma1,006 households applied for aid$1.9M aid approved
  3. 2005Hurricane Wilma285 households applied for aid$376K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Cudjoe KeyMonroe County only

Monroe County has had 35 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Monroe County, 1999–2001.

Were you here?

Old photos of Cudjoe Key after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Cudjoe Key archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Cudjoe Key faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the tide surges
  • Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
  • Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
  • Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Cudjoe Key

Is Cudjoe Key at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cudjoe Key has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (54%) and coastal flooding (41%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Cudjoe Key in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Monroe County, 61% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 58.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Cudjoe Key?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cudjoe Key’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Cudjoe Key?

By FEMA money that reached Cudjoe Key, Hurricane Irma (2017): 1,006 households applied for aid, $1.9M approved.

Is Cudjoe Key at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and Cudjoe Key’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cudjoe Key.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cudjoe Key’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.