Storms, floods and disasters in Matlacha
Matlacha isn’t graded for hazard risk: Matlacha has 770 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Matlacha 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.
Does Matlacha flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Matlacha. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Matlacha isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lee County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Matlacha
Disasters that paid out in Matlacha itself (aid to households or repair grants to Matlacha), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Milton142 households applied for aid$1.0M aid approved
- 2024Hurricane Helene94 households applied for aid$855K aid approved
- 2022Hurricane Ian456 households applied for aid$4.0M aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma66 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Wilma14 households applied for aid$48K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances12 households applied for aid$19K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley182 households applied for aid$114K aid approved
Lee County has had 30 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lee County, 1999–2017.
Old photos of Matlacha after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Matlacha archive →Get ready for what Matlacha 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 Matlacha
Is Matlacha 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 Lee County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 24.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Matlacha?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Matlacha’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 Matlacha?
By FEMA money that reached Matlacha, Hurricane Ian (2022): 456 households applied for aid, $4.0M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Matlacha.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Matlacha’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.