Natural disaster risk in Charlotte County, Florida

Florida · population 186,734 · FIPS 12015

Overall: relatively high risk

Charlotte County has a composite risk score of 95.2 out of 100 — higher than 95% of US counties. It ranks 18 of 67 in Florida (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are hurricane, lightning, coastal flooding.

Drought now: Yes: D1 Moderate Drought, 50 weeks

Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 13.88% of Charlotte County is in D1 Moderate Drought. Some of it has been at D1 or worse for 50 weeks in a row.

Drought in Charlotte County: the last 52 weeks · droughtmonitor.unl.edu

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.

Risk, loss, vulnerability and resilience

MeasureRating and score
Overall risk
Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.
Relatively high 95.2
Expected annual loss
About $131.3 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.
Relatively moderate 93.2
Social vulnerability
Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.
Relatively high 77
Community resilience
Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.
Very low 12.2

Risk by hazard

FEMA's risk rating for each of 18 natural hazards in Charlotte County, highest first. "Not applicable" means the hazard is not modelled here.

HazardRisk rating and score
Hurricane Very high 98
Lightning Very high 98
Coastal flooding Relatively high 90
Wildfire Relatively moderate 92
Inland (riverine) flooding Relatively moderate 85
Strong wind Relatively moderate 74
Heat wave Relatively low 75
Tornado Relatively low 62
Cold wave Relatively low 51
Drought Relatively low 42
Earthquake Very low 30
Landslide Very low 29
Hail Very low 12
Avalanche Not applicable
Ice storm Not applicable
Tsunami Insufficient data
Volcanic activity Not applicable
Winter weather No rating

FEMA disaster declarations for Charlotte County

Federal declarations that designated Charlotte County, since 1 Jan 2024 (the period this site keeps from OpenFEMA). Older declarations are in FEMA's own dataset.

Yes. Charlotte County has been named in 6 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is DR-4834-FL (Hurricane Milton), declared 11 Oct 2024.

DeclarationKindIncidentDeclaredIndividual assistance here
DR-4834-FL Major disaster Hurricane Milton 11 Oct 2024 Yes
EM-3622-FL Emergency Hurricane Milton 7 Oct 2024 No
DR-4828-FL Major disaster Hurricane Helene 28 Sep 2024 Yes
EM-3615-FL Emergency Tropical Storm Helene 24 Sep 2024 No
DR-4806-FL Major disaster Hurricane Debby 10 Aug 2024 No
EM-3605-FL Emergency Tropical Storm Debby 3 Aug 2024 No

All FEMA declarations in Florida, with estimated apply-by dates · Open FEMA deadlines

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2.

How to read these ratings

  • Ratings run in five steps: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high and very high. They compare a county with every other US county; they are not a measure of danger on their own.
  • Scores run from 0 to 100 and are national percentiles. The bar shows the score: a score of 80 means a higher value than 80% of US counties.
  • Overall risk combines the expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience.
  • Expected annual loss is the average yearly loss to buildings, people and agriculture the model expects from all 18 hazards.
  • Social vulnerability describes how hard it may be for people to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Higher is worse.
  • Community resilience describes a community's ability to prepare, adapt and recover. Higher is better.
  • "Not applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard there (for example, hurricanes far inland).

About this data

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, version 1.20, released December 2025, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (US public domain). About the National Risk Index. The index is a model of relative risk built from historical hazard records, what is exposed and community factors. It is not a forecast, it does not describe any single property, and it is not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific address, check FEMA's flood maps and your local emergency management office.

Questions

What is the natural disaster risk in Charlotte County, Florida?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Charlotte County as relatively high, with a score of 95.2 out of 100 (higher than 95% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Charlotte County?

The hazards rated highest for Charlotte County are hurricane (very high), lightning (very high), coastal flooding (relatively high).

What is the flood risk in Charlotte County?

FEMA rates inland (river and rain) flooding risk in Charlotte County as relatively moderate, and coastal flooding risk as relatively high. For a specific property, check the FEMA flood map and your local floodplain office.

Has Charlotte County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Yes. Charlotte County has been named in 6 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is DR-4834-FL (Hurricane Milton), declared 11 Oct 2024.

Is Charlotte County in a drought?

Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 13.88% of Charlotte County is in D1 Moderate Drought. Some of it has been at D1 or worse for 50 weeks in a row.

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