Flood Information

Floodplain management is an essential day-to-day responsibility of the Village of Estero. With 45% of the Village being in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the Village is dedicated to educating its residents about flood safety and damage prevention to their dwellings, personal belongings, and businesses.

It is the Village’s responsibility to promote public awareness of flooding that could result from natural disasters and to maintain participation in the Community Rating System CRS) through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The NFIP insures buildings, including mobile homes, with two types of coverage: building and contents.

Building coverage includes any damage to: walls, floors, insulation, and other items permanently attached to the structure, where damage is caused by a flood.  Contents coverage may be purchased separately if the contents are located in a covered building.

The CRS program is a voluntary program through the NFIP and is designed to encourage local governments to adopt and enforce floodplain management policies and procedures to ensure flood-resistant development in a community. It uses a point system of 1 through 10, with 10 being the minimum, to grade the amount of additional flood education and safety a community offers to its residents.

The Village currently has a CRS rating of 6, which gives each NFIP policyholder in the SFHA an additional 20% discount on their flood insurance bill each year (10% if you are outside of the SFHA – these are called Preferred Risk Policies)

In the Village of Estero, flooding and other drainage problems can result after several inches of rain in a short period of time or after several days of continued rain. Hurricanes, tropical storms, and other threatening weather can present flood hazards to residents due to high tides, storm surges caused by winds, and heavy rainfall.

Floodplain Animation

Used with permission from the US Army Corps of Engineers

Flood zones are not the same as evacuation zones. Flood zones are used for assessing a property’s flood risk, which can be caused by heavy rains or tropical storms and hurricanes. Evacuation zones are based on a property’s vulnerability to storm surge from a hurricane. Everyone lives in a flood zone, which may be high, moderate or low risk.

Know Before You Buy

If you are looking at buying a property, it’s a good idea to check out the possible flood hazards before you buy. Most homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover flood damage. Talk to your insurance provider about your policy and consider if you need additional coverage.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) helps provide a means for property owners to financially protect themselves if additional coverage is required. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP. The Village of Estero participates in the NFIP. To find out how much flooding could cost you, estimate your premium and learn more about the NFIP, visit www.FloodSmart.gov.

Local Flood Information

  • Build Smart – Protect your property from flooding. Find out what permits are required, learn how to build responsibly and protect your home.
  • Community Rating System – This program provides communities with discounts on flood insurance premiums when participating communities establish flood management programs and activities.
  • Elevation Certificate – Prepared by licensed surveyors as part of the building permit and flooding insurance processes.
  • Flood Insurance – Understand flood insurance. Find out if you should get flood insurance or are required to.
  • Floodplain Protection – Learn about Pinellas County Floodplain Management Program, which takes corrective and preventative measures to reduce flood damage. This includes requirements for zoning, subdivision or building and special-purpose floodplain ordinances.
  • Flood Maps & Zones – Find out your flood risks. The Pinellas County Flood Map Service Center has interactive maps with flood risk information, including FEMA flood zones, hurricane evacuation zones, storm surge and more.
  • Program for Public Information – A planning tool that provides a step-by-step coordinated approach to outreach and messaging about flood hazards, flood safety, flood insurance and floodplain management.
  • Flood Safety – Stay connected and find out what warnings to expect and how to prepare.
  • Flood Information FAQs – Frequently asked questions about flood insurance, flood zones, storm surge, flood prevention and more.

The Village of Estero is excited to announce our partnership with Forerunner, Forerunner’s platform gives our residents access to the latest details on flood risk for their property and makes it easier for our community to access relevant data and important documents, like Elevation Certificates (ECs.)

We now have a public website for community members to access the flood risk data for individual properties. This site makes it easy for homeowners, contractors, insurance agents, realtors, and more to learn about the flood-related risk for a property and the potential building and insurance compliance requirements associated with it. Check it out at https://esterofl.withforerunner.com. Feel free to send us a message through the Get Help Page and let us know what you need. We’ll look and get back to you as soon as possible!

You can use Forerunner to:

Each property in the state has a public profile that can be used by homeowners, contractors, insurance agents, realtors, and others to review the property’s available flood data. Search for a property on the homepage by address to find its flood zone, Base Flood Elevation (BFE), Design Flood Elevation (DFE), important flood compliance-related warnings, and more.

Need an Elevation Certificate for a permit or for insurance purposes? If there are documents on file for your property, you’ll be able to find it in the searchable Elevation Certificate page, or on the property’s unique public profile – saving you the cost of getting a new one.

If you’re hoping to make improvements to a property, you could be unknowingly nearing the property’s substantial improvement threshold. Review a property’s previous improvements or damages to understand possible limitations to your plans.

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Forerunner’s Get Help Page will allow you to contact your local floodplain management team directly with any questions you may have. Simply enter your information, include the address of the property you need help on, and share more information with us in the comments. You’ll receive a response as soon as possible.

Flood Protection Resources

Clicking a link below will cause you to leave the Village of Estero website and go to a website that is not operated by the Village. We are not responsible for the content, availability, or accessibility of linked sites. Clicking a link below equals your acknowledgment and agreement with the proceeding statements.

Additional Resources

Additional Flood Information

Below you will find links to copies of FEMA publications on flood protection. These documents are also available at Lee County Public Library.