Volusia County, Florida

What hazards hit Volusia County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 235 since 1962. The rank column places the county among Florida's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Volusia County had?

NOAA records 106 tornadoes in Volusia County from 1950 to 2025, the strongest rated EF3, with 2 deaths and 104 injuries recorded in the county. That is 21st of 67 Florida counties and 140th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 109 tornadoes whose track touched Volusia County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 106: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 27 people, 2 of them in Volusia County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Florida.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Volusia County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 1, 2026 rip current (1 death and 1 injury).

Two people were caught in a rip current just north of Main Street Pier. One person was able to escape, but notified rescuers that a 32 year old woman was still caught and went under the water. The woman was found approximately 80 to 100 meters from shore. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced deceased. The surviving victim was also transported to the hospital and treated for exhaustion.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1338751)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Volusia County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Volusia County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Volusia County

FEMA's register lists 44 declarations that include Volusia County: 28 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (22) and severe storm (9).

The 40 most recent of 44 are listed; the CSV has every one.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Volusia County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 30 flood or flash flood records for Volusia County from 1999 to 2025, on 25 days, with 5 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Volusia County ranks 41st of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $582 million on 12,577 claims filed in Volusia County; the most in one year was 4,067 in 2022. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Volusia County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Volusia County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $196 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Volusia County

1. Brevard County 1,127
2. Marion County 1,055
3. Flagler County 936
4. Orange County 780
5. Volusia County 779
6. Putnam County 730
7. Lake County 414
8. Seminole County 391

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in FloridaEvery Florida tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in FloridaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Florida recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Volusia CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Volusia County's FEMA declarations (CSV)44 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis