Pineland’s biggest natural hazard is hurricanes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pineland comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Pineland’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Pineland faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
Inland flooding
How exposed is Pineland?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and coastal flooding.
Rated higher than 755 of the 957 Florida towns we cover.
Pineland is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Pineland flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pineland. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Pineland 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.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Pineland
Disasters that paid out in Pineland itself (aid to households or repair grants to Pineland) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Hurricane Milton1 household applied for aid$19K aid approved
- 2022Hurricane Ian8 households applied for aid
- 2005Hurricane Wilma1 household applied for aid
- 2004Hurricane Frances7 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley110 households applied for aid$167K aid approved
Lee County has had 38 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.
Old photos of Pineland after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pineland archive →Get ready for what Pineland actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Pineland and its neighbors
Pineland ranks 2nd calmest of 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pineland | Very high | hurricanes | 0 |
| Pine Island Center | Very high | hurricanes | 0 |
| Bokeelia | Very high | hurricanes | 737 |
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 Lee County’s 38 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 Pineland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Pineland.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pineland.
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.