Does Port Tampa flood?

Port Tampa, Tampa, FL · ZIP code 33616: the ZIP code on 425 of the 426 flood insurance claims counted here. ZIP codes do not follow neighborhood lines.

Yes. Insured properties in and around Port Tampa have filed flood claims. About 91% of Port Tampa’s mapped area is inside FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area (high-risk zones such as AE and VE). NFIP flood insurance records list 426 claims from the Census block groups that cover Port Tampa, from 1979 through 2026. 349 of them received a payment, totaling $15,553,155 (not adjusted for inflation). The busiest years were 2024 (269 claims), 1985 (28 claims), 1996 (27 claims).

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 and get flood insurance quotes before you sign a lease or a contract.

Check a specific address in Port Tampa

Neighborhood figures are averages. Our address check looks up the FEMA flood zone and the hurricane evacuation zone at one address, from the same public maps: check if your address is in a flood zone.

Flood zones street by street in Port Tampa

The named streets in Port Tampa, longest first, with how much of each street’s length inside Port Tampa lies in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (the Special Flood Hazard Area, zones A and V). Length is the part inside Port Tampa; the main zone is the FEMA zone covering most of that length. A street can cross several zones, so the zone at one address can differ from the street’s main zone: check the address above for that. 24 shorter streets are not listed.

Streets: U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, Transportation (primary, secondary and local roads). Flood zones: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels, retrieved October 24, 2026. Each street is clipped to the neighborhood boundary and measured in an equal-area projection. Street lengths are rounded.

Flood zones in Port Tampa

Share of Port Tampa’s mapped area (about 5.92 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 15 feet. Effective date of the FIRM panel(s) covering it (12057C0456J, 12057C0457J, 12057C0458J): October 7, 2021.

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 Port Tampa. About 81% of the combined area of those block groups lies inside Port Tampa. Several of these block groups extend over open water, which the Census includes in block-group boundaries; counting land only (Census land and water areas), about 100% lies inside Port Tampa. Only insured properties appear, so these counts understate total flooding.

By decade

By year of loss

Named flood events with the most claims

• Hurricane Helene: 242 claims
• Hurricane Elena: 28 claims
• Hurricane Josephine: 27 claims
• Hurricane Milton: 23 claims
• Hurricane Idalia: 23 claims

FEMA labels some events only as “Flooding”. Claims by the flood zone the property was rated in:

• A/AE/AH/AO (high risk): 417
• X/B/C (moderate or minimal): 6
• Not reported: 3

How much is flood insurance in Port Tampa?

The typical National Flood Insurance Program policy on single-family homes in Port Tampa costs $1,757 a year: the median of 1,189 policies that started between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. Half of them cost between $1,336 and $2,568. That is the full amount paid for the year, the premium plus FEMA’s fees and surcharges, and every one of these policies is priced under Risk Rating 2.0. A quote for one building can be far from this: its elevation, foundation, age, coverage and deductible all change the price. Private flood insurance is not included.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Policies - v3, computed October 24, 2026.

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Before you rent or buy in Port Tampa

• 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.
• Hiring movers? Check the moving company’s federal license and insurance first with the free Tampa mover check.

Living in Port Tampa

Flood maps are only one part of choosing a neighborhood. To compare Port Tampa with other Tampa neighborhoods on more than flooding, see Tampa on StrollPlace.

Buyer and renter FAQ

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

• Does Gandy Sun Bay flood?
• Southtown Park
• Does Interbay - South of Gandy flood?
• Does Bayside West flood?
• Does FairOaks Manhattan flood?
• Does Ballast Point flood?

How these numbers were made

Neighborhood boundary: City of Tampa, Neighborhoods (open data, CC0). 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 24, 2026. Claims: OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3 records for Hillsborough County (county code 12057), dataset as of September 8, 2026, retrieved October 24, 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: 120570072002 (76.7% of the block group is inside Port Tampa), 120570072001 (96.8% of the block group is inside Port Tampa), 120570072003 (99.9% of the block group is inside Port Tampa). 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; a claim whose FEMA record shows a negative payment (an adjustment) counts as zero. See the methodology.

Sources

1. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims - v3. Retrieved on October 24, 2026.
2. FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), Flood Hazard Zones and FIRM Panels. Retrieved on October 24, 2026.
3. City of Tampa, Neighborhoods (open data, CC0).
4. U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, 2010 Census Block Groups.
5. FEMA Glossary: Flood Zones.
6. FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy.
7. FEMA Fact Sheet: Think you don’t need flood insurance? Think again (Jan. 21, 2025).
8. 44 CFR 61.11, Effective date and time of coverage.
9. OpenFEMA Terms and Conditions.
10. FEMA OpenFEMA Dataset: FIMA NFIP Redacted Policies - v3.
11. U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb, Transportation (primary, secondary and local roads).

Data as of September 8, 2026 (FEMA claims) and October 24, 2026 (flood zones). Page last updated October 25, 2026.