Natural hazards · Ave Maria

Ave Maria, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ave Maria comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Ave Maria?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ave Maria to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hurricanes.

Cold waves62%Hurricanes19%Inland flooding16%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Ave Maria faces

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

Cold waves

62% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Ice stormsWinter weatherAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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

Flood insurance claims

Does Ave Maria flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ave Maria.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ave Maria isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Collier County.

Disasters that hit Ave Maria

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Ave Maria itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Ave Maria.

Brought FEMA money into Ave MariaDeclared for Collier County only

2024

Hurricane Milton

38 households applied for aid $770 aid approved

2024

Hurricane Helene

8 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2022

Hurricane Ian

122 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Irma

271 households applied for aid $62K aid approved

Collier County has had 46 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Ave Maria is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ave Maria’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Ave Maria. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.