On FEMA’s figures, Island Walk faces more hazard damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Island Walk gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, #599 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (56%), then river and rain flooding (42%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Island Walk 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
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 Island Walk’s grade
Hurricanes are 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Island Walk, and Island Walk’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 42% (higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts).
D− #599 of 638 in Florida; higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Island Walk’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, Island Walk has more expected damage per building than 94% of Florida towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.9M a year in losses across Island Walk: $2.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Island Walk flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Island Walk. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Island Walk isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Collier County.The storms Island Walk remembers
None of the 36 disasters declared for Collier County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Island Walk itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Collier County has had 36 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 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Collier County, 1999–2020.
Get ready for what Island Walk 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.
- 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 Island Walk
Is Island Walk at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Island Walk has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #599 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (56%) and river and rain flooding (42%). 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 Island Walk 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 Collier County, 29.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Island Walk?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Island Walk’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Island Walk at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Island Walk’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Island Walk.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Island Walk’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.