Photo: Fisher Island's Club · CC BY 4.0Fisher Island’s building-damage rate from coastal flooding is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fisher Island gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (71%), then coastal flooding (14%). Flood insurance has paid 54 claims here since 1984.
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 Fisher Island’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Fisher Island faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
River and rain 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 Fisher Island’s grade
Hurricanes are 71% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fisher Island, and Fisher Island’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 14%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fisher Island’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $159K a year in losses across Fisher Island: $123K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fisher Island flood? Sometimes: 54 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fisher Island, from FEMA’s records: 81.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Andrew8 claims · $129K
- Hurricane Irene6 claims · $91K
- Hurricane Katrina3 claims · $21K
Fisher Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dade County.The storms Fisher Island remembers
None of the 32 disasters declared for its 2 counties shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fisher Island itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 200920 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19928 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Andrew, declared for its 2 counties
- 19997 flood claims paidThe year of Fl-hurricane Irene-dr-req, declared for its 2 counties
Its 2 counties have had 32 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 its 2 counties, 1999–2001.
Old photos of Fisher Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fisher Island archive →Fisher Island and its neighbors
Fisher Island has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher Island | Bless damage than 56% | hurricanes | 54 |
| Miami | Cmore damage than 66% | hurricanes | 4,323 |
| Miami Beach | C−more damage than 79% | hurricanes | 1,335 |
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 Fisher Island 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Fisher Island
Is Fisher Island at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fisher Island has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (71%) and coastal flooding (14%). 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 Fisher Island flood?
Flood insurance has paid 54 claims in Fisher Island since 1984, $1.7M in all, or 81.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Andrew (8).
Is Fisher Island 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 Dade County, 74% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 33.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fisher Island?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fisher Island’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 Fisher Island?
By flood claims, Hurricane Andrew: 8 paid, $129K.
Is Fisher Island at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (71%), and Fisher Island’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fisher Island.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fisher Island’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.