Does Coconut Grove flood?
Yes. Insured properties in and around Coconut Grove have filed flood claims. About 18% of Coconut Grove’s mapped area is inside FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area; the rest is in moderate or minimal-hazard Zone X. NFIP flood insurance records list 544 claims from the Census block groups that cover Coconut Grove, from 1979 through 2022. 404 of them received a payment, totaling $27,998,649 (not adjusted for inflation). The busiest years were 1992 (195 claims), 2017 (141 claims), 2005 (54 claims).
What this page counts as Coconut Grove
“Coconut Grove” is a common name, not one official boundary. The City of Miami’s neighborhood map splits it into smaller named neighborhoods. For this page, Coconut Grove means the City of Miami neighborhoods named for the Grove (North Grove, Grove Center, South Grove, South Grove Bayside, East Grove, West Grove, Bird Grove East, Bird Grove West) plus Fair Isle, the island off Grove Center. All numbers below are for the combined area of those neighborhoods (City of Miami, Miami Neighborhoods (ArcGIS feature service)).
- North Grove – living in North Grove (StrollPlace)
- Does Grove Center flood?
- Does South Grove flood?
- South Grove Bayside – living in South Grove Bayside (StrollPlace)
- East Grove – living in East Grove (StrollPlace)
- West Grove – living in West Grove (StrollPlace)
- Bird Grove East – living in Bird Grove East (StrollPlace)
- Bird Grove West – living in Bird Grove West (StrollPlace)
- Fair Isle – living in Fair Isle (StrollPlace)
Past claims do not predict future flooding, and a neighborhood figure cannot tell you about one building. Look up the exact address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (or the Miami-Dade County Flood Zone map viewer) and get flood insurance quotes before you sign a lease or a contract.
Flood zones in Coconut Grove
Share of Coconut Grove’s mapped area (about 7.395 km²) in each FEMA flood zone, from FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels. Mapped base flood elevations inside the neighborhood range from 10 to 16 feet. Effective date of the FIRM panel(s) covering it (12086C0457L, 12086C0459L, 12086C0476L, 12086C0477L, 12086C0478L): September 11, 2009.
| FEMA zone | Share of area |
|---|---|
| X (unshaded, minimal) | 80% |
| AE | 9.7% |
| VE | 8.7% |
| X (shaded, 0.2% annual chance) | 1.5% |
| AH | 0.0% |
What the zones mean
- Zone AE (and A, AH, AO)
- High-risk: part of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the area FEMA maps as having a 1-percent chance of flooding in any given year (the “100-year” or base flood). AE areas have a mapped base flood elevation.
- Zone VE (and V)
- High-risk coastal areas, also in the SFHA, where the base flood is expected to bring additional hazards from storm waves.
- Zone X (shaded)
- Moderate hazard: between the limits of the 1-percent and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (“500-year”) flood.
- Zone X (unshaded)
- Minimal hazard: outside the SFHA and higher than the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood elevation. Minimal is not zero: flood claims are filed from X zones too.
Source: FEMA Glossary: Flood Zones.
Flood insurance claims over time
Claims filed under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from the 2010 Census block groups that cover Coconut Grove. About 80% of the combined area of those block groups lies inside Coconut Grove, so the claim figures also reflect some nearby blocks. Several of these block groups extend over open water of Biscayne Bay, which the Census includes in block-group boundaries; counting land only (Census land and water areas), about 94% lies inside Coconut Grove. Only insured properties appear, so these counts understate total flooding.
By decade
| Decade | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3 | $835 |
| 1980s | 32 | $77,807 |
| 1990s | 249 | $14,383,070 |
| 2000s | 75 | $822,611 |
| 2010s | 177 | $12,485,631 |
| 2020s | 8 | $228,691 |
By year of loss
Named flood events with the most claims
- Hurricane Andrew: 194 claims
- Hurricane Irma: 140 claims
- Hurricane Irene: 40 claims
- Flooding: 19 claims
- Hurricane Wilma: 19 claims
FEMA labels some events only as “Flooding”. Claims by the flood zone the property was rated in:
- A/AE/AH/AO (high risk): 285
- X/B/C (moderate or minimal): 152
- V/VE (coastal high hazard): 102
- Not reported: 3
- Other (D): 2
Before you rent or buy in Coconut Grove
- Look up the exact address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center; a neighborhood can mix high-risk and minimal-hazard zones.
- Ask the landlord or seller about past flooding and flood insurance claims at the property.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: new NFIP policies usually take 30 days to start (FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy).
- Ask which floor the unit is on and where parking, storage and mechanical equipment sit.
Living in Coconut Grove
Flood maps are only one part of choosing a neighborhood. To compare Coconut Grove with other Miami neighborhoods on more than flooding, see Miami on StrollPlace.
Buyer and renter FAQ
Does Coconut Grove flood?
Yes. Insured properties in and around Coconut Grove have filed flood claims. About 18% of Coconut Grove’s mapped area is inside FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area; the rest is in moderate or minimal-hazard Zone X. NFIP flood insurance records list 544 claims from the Census block groups that cover Coconut Grove, from 1979 through 2022. 404 of them received a payment, totaling $27,998,649 (not adjusted for inflation). The busiest years were 1992 (195 claims), 2017 (141 claims), 2005 (54 claims). Past claims do not predict future flooding, and conditions vary street by street, so check the specific address.
Is Coconut Grove in a flood zone?
About 18% of Coconut Grove’s mapped area is inside FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area; the rest is in moderate or minimal-hazard Zone X. Shares by zone: X (unshaded, minimal) 80%; AE 9.7%; VE 8.7%; X (shaded, 0.2% annual chance) 1.5%; AH 0.0%. The FIRM panel(s) covering it took effect September 11, 2009.
Do renters need flood insurance?
Standard renters policies usually do not cover flood. Renters in a community that participates in the NFIP can buy contents-only flood coverage, up to $100,000 for belongings.
How long does a new flood policy take to start?
A new NFIP policy generally takes effect 30 days after purchase. Exceptions include no wait when the policy is bought while making, increasing, extending or renewing a mortgage, and a one-day wait in a newly designated high-risk zone within 12 months of the map change.
How much coverage can NFIP provide?
For a one-to-four family home, NFIP building coverage goes up to $250,000 and contents coverage up to $100,000. You can buy flood insurance even if you are not in a high-risk zone, as long as your community participates in the NFIP.
FAQ sources: FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy; FEMA Fact Sheet: Think you don’t need flood insurance? Think again (Jan. 21, 2025); 44 CFR 61.11, Effective date and time of coverage.
Nearby neighborhoods
- Roads – living in Roads (StrollPlace)
- Silver Bluff – living in Silver Bluff (StrollPlace)
- Douglas Park – living in Douglas Park (StrollPlace)
- Vizcaya – living in Vizcaya (StrollPlace)
- Bay Heights – living in Bay Heights (StrollPlace)
- Shenandoah South – living in Shenandoah South (StrollPlace)
How these numbers were made
Area boundary: the combined polygons of the City of Miami neighborhoods listed above, from City of Miami, Miami Neighborhoods (ArcGIS feature service). Flood zone shares: the neighborhood polygon intersected with FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels, area computed in an equal-area projection; retrieved October 21, 2026. Claims: OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3 records for Miami-Dade County (county code 12086), dataset as of September 8, 2026, retrieved October 21, 2026. A 2010 Census block group is counted for a neighborhood when at least 25% of the block group lies inside the neighborhood, or at least 25% of the neighborhood lies inside the block group. Block groups used: 120860073003 (44.5% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860068012 (98.6% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860068011 (97.4% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860071012 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860071011 (97.8% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860071042 (98.3% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860071041 (99.2% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860073004 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860073001 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860073002 (77.5% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860072004 (63.6% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860072003 (72.9% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860072002 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860072001 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860071032 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860071031 (100.0% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove), 120860068021 (99.4% of the block group is inside Coconut Grove). Neighboring pages can share a block group, so their counts can overlap. Paid totals add building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments and are not adjusted for inflation. See the methodology.
Sources
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims - v3. Retrieved on October 21, 2026.
- FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels. Retrieved on October 21, 2026.
- City of Miami, Miami Neighborhoods (ArcGIS feature service).
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, 2010 Census Block Groups.
- FEMA Glossary: Flood Zones.
- FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy.
- FEMA Fact Sheet: Think you don’t need flood insurance? Think again (Jan. 21, 2025).
- 44 CFR 61.11, Effective date and time of coverage.
- OpenFEMA Terms and Conditions.
Data as of September 8, 2026 (FEMA claims) and October 21, 2026 (flood zones). Page last updated October 21, 2026.