Natural hazards · St. Marks

St. Marks, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Marks comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 167 claims here since 1985. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Marks?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Marks to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hurricanes.

Cold waves24%Hurricanes24%Inland flooding24%Coastal flooding10%Tornadoes8%Everything else10%

By hazard

What St. Marks faces

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

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Coastal flooding

10% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Lower here

HailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Ice stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 St. Marks flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in St. Marks, from FEMA’s records.

167paid claims since 1985

$3.0Mpaid to owners

30homes flooded more than once

19852026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Dennis: 31 claims, $919K
Hurricane Opal: 29 claims, $162K
Hurricane Kate: 26 claims, $222K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (6) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. St. Marks is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Wakulla County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit St. Marks

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in St. Marks itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of St. Marks.

Brought FEMA money into St. MarksDeclared for Wakulla County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

15 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $33K to the City of St. Marks for repairs

2018

Hurricane Michael

67 households applied for aid $220K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Hermine

3 households applied for aid

2012

Tropical Storm Debby

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Dennis

82 households applied for aid $250K aid approved $81K to the City of St. Marks for repairs

2000

Tropical Storm Helene

$25K to the City of St. Marks for repairs

Wakulla County has had 38 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

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. St. Marks 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 St. Marks’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. Marks. 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.

St. Marks, FL natural hazards

How exposed is St. Marks?

What St. Marks faces

Cold waves

Hurricanes

Inland flooding

Coastal flooding

Tornadoes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does St. Marks flood?

Biggest named events

Homes that flooded again and again

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Michael

Hurricane Hermine

Tropical Storm Debby

Hurricane Dennis

Tropical Storm Helene

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

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