Storms, floods and disasters in Stuart
Stuart isn’t graded for hazard risk: Stuart has 628 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Stuart faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Wildfire
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 Stuart flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Stuart. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Stuart isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Holt County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Stuart
Disasters that paid out in Stuart itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Stuart), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2019Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding10 households applied for aid$49K aid approved$4K to the Village of Stuart for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the Village of Stuart for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storm$3K to the Village of Stuart for repairs
Holt County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Stuart after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Stuart archive →Get ready for what Stuart faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Stuart
Is Stuart 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 Holt County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Stuart?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Stuart’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 Stuart?
By FEMA money that reached Stuart, Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2019): 10 households applied for aid, $49K approved, and $4K to the Village of Stuart for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stuart.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Stuart’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.