Key facts: Fort Lauderdale
- In April 2023, Fort Lauderdale took more than 25 inches of rain in about a day, swamping streets and the airport.[1]
- The city is threaded with canals that respond to the tide.
- When rain arrives on a high tide, low streets drain slowly, and garages and ground floors take the water.
Canals with limited room
The city is threaded with canals that respond to the tide. When rain arrives on a high tide, low streets drain slowly, and garages and ground floors take the water. Check your own elevation and flood zone.
Slab homes after a downpour
Most homes here sit on slab, so water spreads quickly under baseboards and into wall bottoms. Lift furniture, photograph, and keep the air conditioning question for the contractor.
Flood claims recorded in Broward County
Fort Lauderdale sits in Broward County. FEMA publishes every National Flood Insurance Program claim with personal details removed, which gives a plain record of where water has reached insured buildings here.
| Measure | Count |
|---|---|
| Flood insurance claims on record | 35,049 |
| Year with the most claims | 1999 (6,520) |
| Largest named event | Hurricane Irene (5,824) |
| Claims outside high-risk A and V zones | 11% |
| Claims on buildings built before 1975 | 57% |
County-wide counts of insured claims only. Uninsured losses, burst pipes and appliance leaks are not in this data.
What the Fort Lauderdale claim record shows
For Fort Lauderdale homes, the local precedents are the events behind the most Broward County claims: Hurricane Irene (5,824 claims), Flooding (4,601 claims) and Hurricane Wilma (3,976 claims).
Around Fort Lauderdale, about 89% of county claims with a recorded zone came from the high-risk A and V zones, so checking your address on the FEMA flood map tells you a lot here.
If your Fort Lauderdale home is older, note that buildings from before 1975 make up 57% of county claims with a known build date. Many predate current flood maps, so inspect low outlets, ductwork and subfloors closely after any water event.
Federal disaster history for Broward County
FEMA lists 43 federal declarations covering Broward County. The most common types are hurricane (25), freezing (5) and severe storm (4). The latest are Hurricane Milton in 2024, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding in 2023 and Hurricane Nicole in 2022. If your loss falls inside an open declaration, Fort Lauderdale homeowners can check DisasterAssistance.gov as well as their insurance policy.
Fort Lauderdale weather and your home
Weather records for Fort Lauderdale from 2015 through 2024 average 69 inches of precipitation a year, and September and June are the wettest months. The area averages 12.4 days a year with an inch or more.
Freezing nights almost never happen in Fort Lauderdale, so the bigger concerns are storms, plumbing failures and humidity.
When rain falls in Fort Lauderdale
Seasonal averages for Fort Lauderdale, 2015 through 2024. Plan roof, gutter and sump pump checks before the wettest stretch.
| Season | Average | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| January to March | 8.7 in | 13% |
| April to June | 20.0 in | 29% |
| July to September | 25.7 in | 37% |
| October to December | 14.7 in | 21% |
Modeled from Open-Meteo historical weather data. Precipitation includes rain and melted snow.
Fort Lauderdale home checklist from these records
- Don't rely on recent quiet years. Only 25% of Broward County claims date from 2015 or later, so older floods still show what can happen.
- Test any sump pump before September, since Fort Lauderdale averages 12 days a year with an inch or more.
- Keep dated photos of each room. After Hurricane Irene, 5,824 insured Broward County owners filed claims at about the same time.
What to tell the Fort Lauderdale contractor
- How close you are to a canal
- Whether streets are passable
- How high the water reached