On FEMA’s figures, Navarre Beach faces more hazard damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Navarre Beach gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (69%), then river and rain flooding (18%). Flood insurance has paid 185 claims here since 1995.
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 Navarre Beach’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Navarre Beach 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 Navarre Beach’s grade
Hurricanes are 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Navarre Beach, and Navarre Beach’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 9%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Navarre Beach’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $723K a year in losses across Navarre Beach: $588K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Navarre Beach flood? Yes: 185 flood claims since 1995
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Navarre Beach, from FEMA’s records: 90.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Sally97 claims · $860K
- Hurricane Ivan48 claims · $838K
- Hurricane Dennis28 claims · $248K
Navarre Beach isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Santa Rosa County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Navarre Beach
Disasters that paid out in Navarre Beach itself (aid to households or repair grants to Navarre Beach), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2005Hurricane Dennis6 households applied for aid$3K aid approved28 flood claims paid for it, $248K
- 2004Hurricane Ivan22 households applied for aid$23K aid approved48 flood claims paid for it, $838K
Santa Rosa 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Rosa County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Navarre Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Navarre Beach archive →Navarre Beach and its neighbors
Navarre Beach is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navarre | Dmore damage than 90% | hurricanes | 17 |
| Navarre Beach | Dmore damage than 91% | hurricanes | 185 |
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 Navarre Beach 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 Navarre Beach
Is Navarre Beach at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Navarre Beach has higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (69%) and river and rain flooding (18%). 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 Navarre Beach flood?
Flood insurance has paid 185 claims in Navarre Beach since 1995, $2.3M in all, or 90.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Sally (97).
Is Navarre Beach 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 Santa Rosa County, 67% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 14.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Navarre Beach?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Navarre Beach’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 Navarre Beach?
By FEMA money that reached Navarre Beach, Hurricane Ivan (2004): 22 households applied for aid, $23K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Sally: 97 paid, $860K.
Is Navarre Beach at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Navarre Beach’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Navarre Beach.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Navarre Beach’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.