Polk, FL
Polk County in Florida has 18 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1999–2024, most recently Hurricane Milton on Oct 11, 2024 (DR-4834). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #104 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 135 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $6,428,134 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Polk County
The 18 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Polk County, FL (1999–2024). Total declarations on record: 18.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Hurricane | Hurricane Milton | DR-4834 |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Hurricane | Hurricane Milton | DR-3622 |
| Aug 31, 2023 | Hurricane | Hurricane Idalia | DR-4734 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Nicole | DR-4680 |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian | DR-4673 |
| Sep 24, 2022 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Ian | DR-3584 |
| Aug 30, 2019 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian | DR-3419 |
| Sep 10, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-4337 |
| Sep 5, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-3385 |
| Oct 6, 2016 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew | DR-3377 |
| Oct 24, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Wilma | DR-1609 |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3220 |
| Sep 26, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Jeanne | DR-1561 |
| Sep 16, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ivan | DR-1551 |
| Sep 4, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Frances | DR-1545 |
| Aug 13, 2004 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley | DR-1539 |
| Oct 20, 1999 | Hurricane | Fl-Hurricane Irene-Dr-Req | DR-1306 |
| Oct 15, 1999 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Irene - Florida | DR-3150 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 22 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Florida
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dixie | B | 23 | 55 | 24 |
| Leon | B | 23 | 9 | 20 |
| Taylor | B | 21 | 67 | 22 |
| Monroe | B | 21 | 1.5K | 27 |
| Alachua | B | 24 | 27 | 17 |
| Osceola | B | 24 | 87 | 21 |
More Counties in Florida
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Polk County, FL have?
Polk County, FL has 18 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1999–2024). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Milton (declared Oct 11, 2024, DR-4834); Hurricane Milton (declared Oct 7, 2024, DR-3622); Hurricane Idalia (declared Aug 31, 2023, DR-4734); Hurricane Nicole (declared Dec 13, 2022, DR-4680); Hurricane Ian (declared Sep 29, 2022, DR-4673). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Polk County, FL?
Polk County is graded B (composite score 22/100, moderate risk). It ranks #104 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County?
135 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County, FL, totaling $6,428,134 in payouts. The average claim is $47,616. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Polk County, FL had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Polk County was Hurricane Milton on Oct 11, 2024 (DR-4834). The county has 18 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1999–2024.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.