Sumter County, FL Environment & Hazard Risk

• HurricaneRelatively High$18.3M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 4 years
• LightningRelatively High$978K/yr expected annual loss, about 93 events a year
• WildfireRelatively Moderate$1.3M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 212 years
• TornadoRelatively High$5.4M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• Strong windRelatively High$1.4M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.2 events a year
• Heat waveRelatively Low$689K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.8 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively Low$668K/yr expected annual loss, about 3.4 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$141K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2,299 years
• LandslideVery Low$199/yr expected annual loss, about once every 15 years
• HailVery Low$56.1K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.4 events a year
• DroughtVery Low$3,915/yr expected annual loss, about 17 events a year

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, ice storm, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, winter weather.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

2,912 of 70,279 (4.1%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

2,480

Insured in high-risk zones

958 (39%)

Flood claims since 1978

123

Claims paid since 1978

$1.5M

• Frost/Freeze71
• Thunderstorm Wind69
• Dense Fog56
• Hail26
• Lightning14 · 2 deaths
• Tropical Storm13
• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill11
• Tornado10
• Heavy Rain6
• Flood5

• TornadoEF3, 5.67 mi path, 335 yd wide02/02/2007

  Royal, Sumter County

  15 injured, $62M damage

  What happened

  The tornado first touched down near the southeast corner of The Villages south of Lake Miona and moved rapidly to the east northeast at 55 MPH into Lake County. A FEMA report to Sumter County emergency management officials detailed damage to 1,145 homes with 200 destroyed during the 6 minutes the tornado was on the ground. A National Weather Service storm survey estimated maximum winds of 140 MPH. No fatalities were recorded in Sumter County and 15 injuries is a rough estimate.

• Tropical Storm09/11/2017

  Sumter

  $18.9M damage

  What happened

  In Sumter County, winds from Hurricane Irma were estimated to be around 40-60 knots, with the highest wind reported being a gust to 53 knots at the CWOP station D5322 in The Villages. Rainfall was generally around 8 inches or greater, with the highest rain total being 11.34 inches at a mesonet station in Compressco. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes and businesses, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Sumter County Emergency Management reported that 5 homes or businesses were destroyed by Irma, 27 sustained major damage, and 688 had minor damage.||The total damage in Sumter County was estimated at $19 million, which included $5 million in individual assistance claims, and $14 million in public assistance claims including debris removal and emergency protective measures.

• Lightning09/02/1997

  Wildwood, Sumter County

  1 death, 2 injured

  What happened

  Lightning from the cirrus anvil of a distant thunderstorm struck and killed a nine year old child and injured two other children ages eleven and fifteen. The children were standing along the sidelines of the Wildwood High School football practice field. The nine year old male child died ten days after the strike.The nine year old child took the direct lightning hit and sustained major burn injuries to his forehead, chest, back and down the left side of his body to the soles of his feet. The two older children's injuries from the lighting were minor. The lightning struck nearly 35 minutes after a thunderstorm had passed over the field.

• Lightning06/15/2010

  Lake Panasoffkee, Sumter County

  1 death, 1 injured

  What happened

  Lightning struck a rotted 45-foot tall oak tree causing it to fall onto a manufactured home in Lake Panasoffkee. The two residents of the home were inside their living room when the tree fell onto them, killing a 59-year-old female and critically injuring a 58-year-old male.

• High Wind50 kt wind09/05/2004

  Sumter

  $8.4M damage

  What happened

  Hurricane Frances made landfall just after midnight on September 5th near Vero Beach as a Category 2 storm. The hurricane continued to move slowly west northwestward across central Florida to near Bartow by 2 pm, and just northeast of Tampa by 8 pm, when it was downgraded to a tropical storm. It then emerged back into the Gulf of Mexico near Hudson shortly before midnight. Hurricane Frances took almost 24 hours to move through the Florida peninsula. Frances continued northwestward through the northern gulf of Mexico, making a second landfall on the afternoon of September 6th in the Florida big bend near Tallahassee as a tropical storm. The damage totals listed were caused by trees downed on homes and overland and river flooding. In Polk County there were four indirect deaths reported; two were separate incidents of people falling off of a roof while cleaning storm debris and two FEMA contract employees were killed when their aircraft clipped a tower and crashed while they were spraying for mosquitoes due to excessive standing water from Hurricane Frances. In Highlands County there was one indirect death of a man falling off his roof while cleaning storm debris. In Sumter...

• Strong Wind40 kt wind09/26/2004

  Sumter

  $6M damage

  What happened

  Hurricane Jeanne followed the nearly the same path across Florida as Hurricane Frances three weeks earlier and was the unprecedented fourth hurricane to damage Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. The hurricane moved ashore along the east coast of Florida near Stuart late on September 25th with an eye 30 to 40 miles across. Jeanne took a course north of Lake Okeechobee and decreased to a tropical storm in eastern Polk County around 9 AM EDT on the 26th. The center of Jeanne curved north of Tampa Bay during the afternoon and travelled north along the coastal counties before exiting north through Levy County around 10 PM. In Highlands County there were 140 homes destroyed and 2,000 homes with major damage. Emergency Management estimated the total damage to be $452 million. A peak wind of 82 knots (94 MPH) was recorded in Sebring at 3 AM EST on 09/26/2004. In Polk County a peak wind gust of 67 knots (77 MPH) was recorded in both Frostproof and Bartow between 5-6 AM EST on 09/26/2004. In Hardee and Sumter Counties the damage was limited to trees falling on homes, vehicles, and power lines. The damage total was estimated by doubling the insured losses unless otherwise...

• North Sumter Utility 3wpsServes 45,214 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Wildwood, City of (7 Wps)Serves 25,941 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
• Little Sumter Utilities 3wpsServes 25,538 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• South Sumter UtilitiesServes 24,278 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Csu WTP No. 1Serves 19,699 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Gibson Place UtilitiesServes 9,770 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Lake Panasoffkee Water Assn 2wpsServes 4,642 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+5 monitoring or reporting
• Village of Pine Ridge (Consec)Serves 3,914 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations