Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to St. Leo

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
St. Leo FL town hall01Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 2.5
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in St. Leo · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in St. Leo as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, St. Leo gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (56%), then river and rain flooding (33%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 56%River and rain flooding 33%Tornadoes 7%

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

more than 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Florida · higher than 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
56% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 33 declared for Pasco County
By hazard

What St. Leo faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

56%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

33%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Strong wind Earthquakes Cold waves top 5% Lightning Hail Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingWinter stormsIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts tornadoes at 15% of St. Leo’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (6.8%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind St. Leo’s grade

Hurricanes are 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in St. Leo, and St. Leo’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where St. Leo sits
St. Leo
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of St. Leo’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes56%River and rain flooding33%Tornadoes7%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across St. Leo: $839K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Milton in 2024, FEMA took 8 aid registrations from St. Leo addresses (the town has 50 homes).
Shared tract.All of St. Leo’s 2,362 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with San Antonio city (1,297 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does St. Leo flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in St. Leo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

St. Leo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Pasco County.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to St. Leo

Disasters that paid out in St. Leo itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of St. Leo), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Milton8 households applied for aid$14K to the Town of St. Leo for repairs
  2. 2024Hurricane Helene1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
  3. 2022Hurricane Ian2 households applied for aid$700 aid approved
  4. 2017Hurricane Irma5 households applied for aid$9K to the Town of St. Leo for repairs
  5. 2004Hurricane Jeanne1 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$2K to the Town of St. Leo for repairs
  6. 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley1 households applied for aid$937 aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in St. LeoPasco County only

Pasco County has had 33 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 Pasco County, 2000–2000.

Were you here?

Old photos of St. Leo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the St. Leo archive →
Next door

St. Leo and its neighbors

St. Leo is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Pasadena Hills: hazard risk C−San Antonio: hazard risk C+Pasadena HillsSan AntonioSt. Leo
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
San AntonioC+more damage than 59%hurricanes2
St. LeoC+more damage than 59%hurricanes0
Pasadena HillsC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding22

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what St. Leo faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in St. Leo

Is St. Leo at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, St. Leo has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (56%) and river and rain flooding (33%). 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 St. Leo 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 Pasco County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 10.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in St. Leo?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for St. Leo’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 St. Leo?

By FEMA money that reached St. Leo, Hurricane Milton (2024): 8 households applied for aid, $0 approved, and $14K to the Town of St. Leo for repairs.

Is St. Leo at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and St. Leo’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in St. Leo.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where St. Leo’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.