Central Florida ‘wash-out’ dumps 19 inches of rain, flooding homes and roads in this 1 county. Here's how to prepare before climate disaster hits you

Average flood insurance premiums in the U.S. are roughly $899 per year, while Florida’s average is about $865 according to a NerdWallet analysis of FEMA data (8).

Many homeowners assume their communities are safe from flooding, but more than 40% of NFIP flood insurance claims come from properties outside high-risk flood zones (9).

What can homeowners do now?

Regardless of whether you live in a flood-prone or low-lying area, there are steps to prepare before the next storm hits:

• Document your property: Take photos of your home, major systems, and any valuable items — before they are damaged (10).
• Review your insurance: Contact your agent to verify your coverage or request a flood insurance quote if you don’t already have coverage.
• Create a flood emergency plan: Know evacuation routes, have sandbags or barriers ready, and back up important documents digitally.
• Sign up for local alerts: Get notifications about flooding and other emergencies in your area. For example, Lake County’s emergency management system provides text and email updates for flood warnings (11).
• Inspect and maintain drainage: Clear up debris from gutters, storm drains, and nearby culverts regularly. Poor drainage can increase local flood risk (12).
• Build a go bag: FEMA recommends preparing a disaster kit with essentials like flashlights, extra batteries, copies of important documents, a portable phone charger, medication, cash, and bottled water and non-perishable food that will last all family members at least three days (13).

As climate patterns shift, Florida’s flood seasons are stretching longer and becoming less predictable (14). The Lake County washout — with 19 inches of rain falling in a few hours — is a stark reminder that it doesn’t take a hurricane to cause catastrophic damage.

The lesson is clear: Flooding can happen anywhere, at any time, and if you wait to prepare until a storm is on its way, you’ve left it too late.

Article Sources

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WESH 2 (1); News 6 Orlando (2); FEMA (3); NOAA (4); NRDC (5); FEMA (6); FEMA (7); NerdWallet (8); FEMA (9); City of Mount Dora (10); Alert Lake (11); NOAA (12); Ready.gov (13); Science X (14)