Holmes Beach’s biggest natural hazard is coastal flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Holmes Beach comes from coastal flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1,879 claims here since 1979. 11 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Holmes Beach’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Holmes Beach faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
Hurricanes
Inland flooding
Does Holmes Beach flood? Yes: 1,879 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Holmes Beach, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Helene1,364 claims · $154M
- Hurricane Elena120 claims · $868K
- The The ’No-Name Storm’90 claims · $281K
Holmes Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 5) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Manatee County.How exposed is Holmes Beach?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from coastal flooding and hurricanes.
Rated higher than 952 of the 957 Florida towns we cover.
Holmes Beach covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Holmes Beach
Disasters that paid out in Holmes Beach itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Holmes Beach) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Hurricane Milton476 households applied for aid$1.0M aid approved1,391 flood claims paid that year
- 2024Hurricane Helene792 households applied for aid$5.4M aid approved
- 2024Hurricane Debby8 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2023Hurricane Idalia23 households applied for aid$52K aid approved59 flood claims paid that year
- 2022Hurricane Ian62 households applied for aid$18K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma221 households applied for aid$51K aid approved
Show all 13
- 2016Hurricane Hermine1 household applied for aid
- 2012Tropical Storm Debby6 households applied for aid
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne12 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances14 households applied for aid$838 aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley3 households applied for aid$844 aid approved
- 1985147 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
- 198291 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
Manatee County has had 43 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Old photos of Holmes Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Holmes Beach archive →Get ready for what Holmes Beach actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Holmes Beach residents get 25% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Holmes Beach and its neighbors
Holmes Beach has the highest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes Beach | Very high | coastal flooding | 1,879 |
| Anna Maria | Very high | coastal flooding | 1,074 |
| Bradenton Beach | Very high | coastal flooding | 671 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Manatee County’s 43 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Holmes Beach’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Holmes Beach.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Holmes Beach, expected losses total about $5.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Holmes Beach.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.