Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Ellenton faces more hazard damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ellenton gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, #503 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (64%), then river and rain flooding (21%). Flood insurance has paid 164 claims here since 1979.
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
What stands out about Ellenton’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Ellenton faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal flooding
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.
What’s behind Ellenton’s grade
Hurricanes are 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ellenton, and Ellenton’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 11%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D #503 of 638 in Florida; higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Ellenton’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Florida town has higher expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Ellenton has more expected damage per building than 79% of Florida towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Ellenton: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ellenton flood? Yes: 164 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ellenton, from FEMA’s records: 84.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Helene105 claims · $10.8M
- Hurricane Jeanne25 claims · $510K
- The Blizzard of 199310 claims · $93K
Ellenton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Manatee County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ellenton
Disasters that paid out in Ellenton itself (aid to households or repair grants to Ellenton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Milton4,230 households applied for aid$7.2M aid approved
- 2024Hurricane Helene813 households applied for aid$3.5M aid approved105 flood claims paid for it, $10.8M
- 2024Hurricane Debby186 households applied for aid$160K aid approved
- 2023Hurricane Idalia47 households applied for aid$37K aid approved6 flood claims paid for it, $549K
- 2022Hurricane Ian1,199 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma1,267 households applied for aid$410K aid approved
Show all 10
- 2012Tropical Storm Debby18 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne66 households applied for aid$102K aid approved25 flood claims paid for it, $510K
- 2004Hurricane Frances12 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley7 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
Manatee County has had 37 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 Manatee County, 1999–2001.
Old photos of Ellenton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ellenton archive →Ellenton and its neighbors
Ellenton is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Ellenton faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Ellenton
Is Ellenton at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ellenton has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #503 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (64%) and river and rain flooding (21%). 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.
Does Ellenton flood?
Flood insurance has paid 164 claims in Ellenton since 1979, $12.0M in all, or 84.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Helene (105).
Is Ellenton 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 Manatee County, 43% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 17.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ellenton?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ellenton’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 Ellenton?
By FEMA money that reached Ellenton, Hurricane Milton (2024): 4,230 households applied for aid, $7.2M approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Helene: 105 paid, $10.8M.
Is Ellenton at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Ellenton’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ellenton.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ellenton’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.