Hurricane Preparedness in Florida (2026)

Homestead is in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) requiring all openings (windows, doors, garage doors) to have…

Orlando is in a wind-borne debris region under the Florida Building Code, requiring impact protection on all glazed…

Hialeah only allows storm shutters and similar hurricane protection to stay closed during a declared emergency, to…

Alachua County's Building Code requires impact protection on qualifying new or renovated single-family homes in the…

Boca Raton requires impact-rated opening protection under Sec. 19-96 for site-built 1- and 2-family homes when a…

Brevard County's property maintenance code lets owners install storm shutters or panels on occupied homes only…

Broward County bars keeping hurricane shutters mounted or closed on occupied buildings for more than 15 consecutive…

Charlotte County code section 2-1-44 gives property owners just 30 days after hurricane season ends on November 30 to…

Collier County created a dedicated "hurricane shutter/awning contractor" license so only tested, qualified installers…

Coral Gables code enforcement can red-tag an occupied building as unsafe if storm shutters stay bolted over the escape…

Coral Springs lets homeowners keep hurricane shutters up for a limited window: City Code § 7-202 bars closing storm…

Once hurricane season ends, Davie property owners have exactly one week to take down boarding and hurricane shutters or…

High-value new construction in Escambia County's wind-borne debris region must include hurricane opening protection…

Hillsborough County requires wind-borne debris opening protection on site-built single-family homes getting $50,000+ of…

Kissimmee allows shuttering or boarding windows and doors only once the National Weather Service issues an advisory…

Lee County lets hurricane shutters encroach one foot into a required setback, so an attached accordion or roll-down…

Leon County requires a building permit before you install, replace, or remove impact-resistant window or door coverings…

Miami-Dade County Code Section 8-40 requires shutters and other opening-protection products to carry a high wind…

Miramar bars residents from keeping hurricane shutters closed for more than seven consecutive days during hurricane…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Section 105.15 of the adopted Florida Building Code requires impact-resistant opening…

Okaloosa County requires storm shutters or other opening protection on high-value, site-built single-family homes in…

Unincorporated Palm Beach County requires impact-rated shutters or glazing on new site-built single-family homes worth…

Palm Coast's building code doesn't spell out shutter specifications directly; instead City Code § 15-1 fixes the…

Plantation treats storm shutters as a permitted building improvement, not a self-install item: installation falls under…

Port St. Lucie lets owners install storm shutters or hurricane protection devices year-round, but under Property…

Safety Harbor requires a building permit before you install, replace, alter, or remove hurricane shutters or other…

Sarasota County doesn't publish a separate technical standard for hurricane shutters; it licenses who can install them…

In the City of Satellite Beach, a site-built single-family home in the wind-borne debris region must add hurricane…

Large, high-value site-built single-family homes in Seminole County's wind-borne debris region must include hurricane…

Tampa requires opening protection, impact shutters or impact-rated glazing, on new site-built single-family homes in…

Volusia County requires opening protection, hurricane shutters or impact-rated glazing, on new single-family homes…

Homestead's HVHZ building code requires roofing systems to withstand wind speeds exceeding 170 mph. Roofing materials…

Flagler County amends the Florida Building Code's wind design map for unincorporated territory, splitting the county…

Boca Raton will not approve a roof permit until the construction documents spell out the roofing system, materials…

Brevard County requires a mandatory roofing inspection before a certificate of occupancy issues, with two separate…

Clay County sets two hurricane wind-speed design zones under section 6-6 of the Code, tracking the Florida Building…

Collier County enforces the Florida Building Code, Eighth Edition (2023), on every roof in the unincorporated county…

In unincorporated Franklin County, major structures built in the coastal building zone and on the barrier islands (St…

Jacksonville sets local wind-speed design zones under the Florida Building Code, requiring roofs east of a mapped…

Lee County's own Wind-Borne Debris Region and Basic Wind Speed Map, adopted under Section 6-112, sets local wind-speed…

Within Martin County's coastal building zone, covering Hutchinson Island and Jupiter Island, the coastal construction…

Miami requires at least two roofing inspections, dry-in and roof coverings, before a roof permit closes, and re-roofing…

Miami Beach's 2017-2028 building permit reprieve program lets owners renew an expired roof permit without a final city…

Miami-Dade County adopts the Florida Building Code's High Velocity Hurricane Zone roofing requirements and Roofing…

Miramar restricts how early roofing materials can be loaded onto a roof during hurricane season, plus what a builder…

Reroofing or new roof work in unincorporated Palm Beach County needs a building permit and at least two Building…

West Palm Beach's Housing Code requires every roof to be reasonably watertight and weathertight and to adequately…

Alachua County prohibits development in a flood hazard area without a floodplain development permit and building…

Coral Gables requires critical facilities in flood hazard areas to be elevated or dry floodproofed to the 500-year…

Where FEMA's flood maps mark a Highlands County property as an approximate Zone A but give no base flood elevation, the…

Boca Raton sets its own freeboard above FEMA's base flood elevation: Sec. 19-238 requires new buildings in flood hazard…

Homes built in unincorporated Brevard County must sit above the street or, in FEMA flood zones, at least 12 inches…

Unincorporated Broward County requires a floodplain development permit and elevation compliant with ASCE 24 for…

Charlotte County's floodplain ordinance triggers full compliance with flood-resistant construction once repair or…

Buildings exempt from the Florida Building Code but sited in a Citrus County flood hazard area must have their lowest…

Clay County's local amendment to the Florida Building Code, Residential requires the lowest floor of any building in a…

Every new structure in Daytona Beach must set its finished floor at least 12 inches above the crown of the adjacent…

Anything built seaward of Florida's coastal construction control line in unincorporated Escambia County, from Perdido…

New construction in unincorporated Flagler County must clear FEMA-based flood elevation standards: the minimum finish…

Fort Lauderdale parcels that sit seaward of the state's coastal construction control line and also fall inside a mapped…

New construction and substantial improvements in Fort Myers flood hazard areas must meet Florida Building Code…

A manufactured home placed, replaced or substantially improved in a Franklin County flood hazard area must have its…

Hollywood's flood damage prevention chapter sets minimum building elevations above the base flood elevation. New…

Jacksonville requires new and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to elevate their lowest floor to…

New construction and substantial improvements in Lake County's flood hazard areas must meet elevation and design…

Before building in a Lee County flood hazard area, Section 6-433 requires a floodplain development permit from the…

Melbourne requires new buildings in flood hazard areas, including Coastal A Zones, to elevate their lowest floor to the…

New construction and substantial improvements in Miami's special flood hazard areas must have the lowest floor elevated…

New and substantially improved homes in Miami-Dade's flood hazard areas must have their lowest floor built at or above…

Miramar requires new buildings and substantially improved structures in mapped flood hazard areas to sit at least two…

Nassau County's Florida Building Code, Residential amendments in Section R322.2.1 require the lowest floor of a home in…

North Port requires new buildings to set their finished floor above the 100-year flood elevation, with additional…

Okaloosa County's flood-resistant construction amendments, Section 6-138, require enclosed areas below the design flood…

Pompano Beach requires new and substantially improved residential buildings to elevate the lowest floor to the base…

Port St. Lucie requires buildings and accessory structures in flood hazard areas to meet elevation standards tied to…

New construction and substantial improvements in Sarasota County's Special Flood Hazard Areas must elevate the lowest…

Site plans for development in a St. Johns County Flood Hazard Area must show base flood elevations, and Section 3.03.05…

In unincorporated Sumter County, new homes in mapped flood hazard areas must have their lowest floor elevated to the…

Tallahassee requires new residential construction in mapped flood hazard areas to sit at least two feet above the base…

Before framing can rise above the slab, Tampa requires an elevation certification for the lowest floor of any new…

Titusville requires new buildings to sit at least twelve inches above both the street crown and the base flood…

West Palm Beach's technical amendment to the Florida Building Code, Residential sets the minimum elevation for…

After a hurricane, Martin County can enter private property and gated communities to clear disaster debris it deems a…

After a hurricane, Orange County residents can't legally burn their own storm debris in the yard: chapter 15's…

During a declared disaster, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners can order collection of hazardous debris…

Once the city declares a hurricane warning, Sec. 19-170 requires every active construction site to either remove all…

After a state of emergency, Boynton Beach's City Manager may direct crews to clear disaster-generated debris from city…

After a declared disaster, unincorporated Brevard residents must stack storm debris neatly at the road's edge, sorted…

Broward County requires construction sites in the unincorporated area to remove or secure all solid waste and building…

After a declared local emergency, Cape Coral's City Manager can order collection of hurricane debris from public and…

After a declared disaster, Citrus County can remove debris from private residential streets only when it poses an…

When Clay County declares a state of local emergency after a hurricane or other catastrophic disaster, the county…

After the Board of County Commissioners declares a state of emergency for a major or catastrophic disaster, the County…

After a hurricane or declared state of emergency, Coral Gables holds property owners responsible for disaster debris on…

After a major storm, Coral Springs can clear debris from private-community streets once the city manager finds an…

After a declared emergency, Davie may clear disaster debris from private streets and property when it threatens public…

During a declared state of emergency, Daytona Beach may enter private streets and rights-of-way inside any subdivision…

Deerfield Beach clears disaster-generated debris from rights-of-way only after the city manager finds it poses a…

Doral requires every condominium and homeowners association community to file an annual emergency response plan that…

After a hurricane or other disaster, Flagler County will clear debris from private roads and, in narrow circumstances…

After a mayor-declared state of emergency, Fort Myers may enter private communities in Lee County to clear storm debris…

Once a state of emergency is declared, Hillsborough County can enter private roads and rights-of-way in the…

After hurricanes, Homestead residents must separate storm debris by type and place it at the curb for city collection…

After a declared disaster, Jacksonville may enter private streets and other private property to remove storm debris…

After the county declares a state of emergency, Lake County only removes disaster debris from county-owned property…

Leon County requires storm debris to be sorted by type and stacked at the road's edge for county pickup, with strict…

When the Governor or the county commission declares a public emergency, Manatee County and its authorized waste…

After a declared emergency or disaster, the City of Melbourne may enter private streets, roads and other private…

Miami-Dade requires residents and businesses to secure outdoor loose objects the moment a tropical storm or hurricane…

Miramar requires owners and contractors to keep construction sites clear of loose debris and secured during storm…

After a declared disaster, North Port residents must sort debris into five categories and stack it within three feet of…

After a declared disaster, Okaloosa County may remove debris from private streets and roads in private residential…

Osceola County Code § 19-8 lets the county remove disaster debris from private residential communities after a declared…

Once a local state of emergency is declared, the Solid Waste Authority may enter unincorporated Palm Beach County's…

Plantation may clear and remove debris from private streets and private property during the recovery phase of a…

During a declared state of emergency, Polk County's manager can send county crews and contractors onto private property…

City Code § 96.38 declares disaster debris a public nuisance and requires every gated community and private-road…

Port Orange bans leaving garbage, trash or debris in the street right-of-way outside scheduled pickup times, and after…

After a declared disaster, Port St. Lucie manages storm debris under City Code Sec. 98.13, encouraging recycling and…

Before a hurricane advisory hits Pinellas County, every property owner in Safety Harbor must tie down loose lumber…

After a disaster, the City of Sarasota will clear debris from private roads and roadways when the city manager finds it…

Sarasota County only runs storm debris collection once the Board, the Governor or the President has declared a state of…

St. Lucie County's code lets the county administrator declare a local state of emergency and, under that declaration…

After a mayoral disaster declaration, West Palm Beach may clear debris from private residential streets under City Code…

Miami Beach's gas-powered leaf blower and chainsaw bans don't apply during storm cleanup. City Code Secs. 46-243 and…

After a declared disaster, Seminole County can clear debris from private roads and private property only when it poses…