Flood Restoration: what it involves and what the data shows
Flood losses are rising-water events: contaminated water, saturated assemblies and a claims process that runs through flood insurance rather than the homeowners policy. Restoration is category 3 water work at building scale.
- NFIP claims recorded
- 106,572
- median paid, Florida
- $82,109
- median paid, Texas
- $36,647
The figures above come from 106,572 NFIP flood and water claims recorded by FEMA since 2023. Explore the full index by state and county below.
How flood damage restoration works
- Safety and assessment. Power, gas and structural safety are checked before entry; flood water is treated as contaminated.
- Muck-out and removal. Silt, debris and saturated porous materials are removed; flood cuts open wall cavities for drying.
- Cleaning and drying. The structure is cleaned, disinfected and dried to measured moisture targets.
- Claim documentation. The NFIP proof of loss is supported by the mitigation record, photos and the adjuster's inspection.
Insurance and claims
Flood damage is covered by NFIP policies (bought through insurers but federally backed) or private flood insurance, never by standard homeowners policies. NFIP claims have their own proof-of-loss deadlines; the figures on this site's claims index come from FEMA's published NFIP claim records.
Common questions
- What does an NFIP flood claim actually pay?
- Payment depends on coverage limits and documented loss. FEMA publishes every redacted NFIP claim; this site's claims index reports the recorded payment distributions by state and county, with the methodology stated on each page.