Key facts: Miami
- Hurricane Irma pushed surge into Brickell and other bayfront areas in 2017.[2]
- Miami sits on porous limestone only a few feet above the sea, so water here can come from the sky, the bay, or up through the ground.[1]
- Limestone lets seawater move underground, and high tides can back up into storm drains.
Why drainage struggles here
Limestone lets seawater move underground, and high tides can back up into storm drains. A heavy downpour at high tide leaves rain nowhere to go. Hurricane Irma pushed surge into Brickell and other bayfront areas in 2017.[2]
Flood claims recorded in Miami-Dade County
Miami sits in Miami-Dade 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 | 62,029 |
| Year with the most claims | 1999 (13,393) |
| Largest named event | Flooding (13,057) |
| Claims outside high-risk A and V zones | 9% |
| Claims on buildings built before 1975 | 49% |
County-wide counts of insured claims only. Uninsured losses, burst pipes and appliance leaks are not in this data.
What the Miami claim record shows
For Miami homes, the local precedents are the events behind the most Miami-Dade County claims: Flooding (13,057 claims), Hurricane Irene (12,658 claims) and Hurricane Andrew (8,025 claims).
Around Miami, about 91% 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.
A newer Miami home is not exempt: 51% of claims with a known build date involved homes built in 1975 or later.
Federal disaster history for Miami-Dade County
FEMA lists 43 federal declarations covering Miami-Dade County. The most common types are hurricane (23), severe storm (5) and freezing (5). The latest are Hurricane Milton in 2024, Hurricane Nicole in 2022 and Tropical Storm Nicole in 2022. If your loss falls inside an open declaration, Miami homeowners can check DisasterAssistance.gov as well as their insurance policy.
Miami weather and your home
Weather records for Miami from 2015 through 2024 average 59 inches of precipitation a year, and June and September are the wettest months. The area averages 9.0 days a year with an inch or more.
Freezing nights almost never happen in Miami, so the bigger concerns are storms, plumbing failures and humidity.
When rain falls in Miami
Seasonal averages for Miami, 2015 through 2024. Plan roof, gutter and sump pump checks before the wettest stretch.
| Season | Average | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| January to March | 8.2 in | 14% |
| April to June | 17.9 in | 30% |
| July to September | 19.5 in | 33% |
| October to December | 13.7 in | 23% |
Modeled from Open-Meteo historical weather data. Precipitation includes rain and melted snow.
Miami home checklist from these records
- Don't rely on recent quiet years. Only 13% of Miami-Dade County claims date from 2015 or later, so older floods still show what can happen.
- Check roof flashing and drains before June, the wettest month in Miami.
- Keep dated photos of each room. After Flooding, 13,057 insured Miami-Dade County owners filed claims at about the same time.
What to tell the Miami contractor
- Your floor and building
- Whether salt water came in
- Whether the association knows
Services Miami callers ask about
Questions
Miami water damage questions
Can water come up through the ground in Miami?
Yes. The limestone is porous, so high water can rise through the ground as well as over it.[1]
Who pays when a condo leak crosses units?
It depends on your association documents and policies, so report early.