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Natural hazards · Matlacha

Matlacha, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Matlacha comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Matlacha?

87
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Matlacha to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and coastal flooding.

Hurricanes63%Coastal flooding21%Inland flooding12%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Matlacha faces

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

Hurricanes

63% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Coastal flooding

21% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 7% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailCold wavesHeat 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 Matlacha flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Matlacha isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lee County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2homes raised above flood level
Disasters that hit Matlacha

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MatlachaDeclared for Lee County only
2024

Hurricane Milton

142 households applied for aid $1.0M aid approved
2024

Hurricane Helene

94 households applied for aid $855K aid approved
2022

Hurricane Ian

456 households applied for aid $4.0M aid approved
2017

Hurricane Irma

66 households applied for aid $20K aid approved
2005

Hurricane Wilma

14 households applied for aid $48K aid approved
2004

Hurricane Ivan

3 households applied for aid
2004

Hurricane Frances

12 households applied for aid $19K aid approved
2004

Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley

182 households applied for aid $114K aid approved
Lee County has had 38 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. Matlacha 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 Matlacha’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Matlacha. 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.

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