For a place called the “Sunshine State,” Florida tends to get huge volumes of rain each year.
Thanks to that, flooding is a big issue for many areas of the state, including Central Florida.
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The National Weather Service has recorded some of the most significant cases of flooding in the state — as well as which storms were responsible for bringing them.
Below are five of the worst floods in the state’s history:
1. Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928
Starting off this list is the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history: the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928.
According to the National Weather Service, only around 50,000 people lived in South Florida at the time, with many people staying clear of the region thanks to another devastating hurricane two years prior.
As the hurricane approached Florida, it struck the Caribbean, killing over 300 Puerto Ricans and serving as an omen of what was to come.
The storm ultimately made landfall in Palm Beach County as a Category 4 hurricane. The damage was especially severe near Jupiter, as the eye wall of the hurricane stuck around longer than at any other location, and the town was caught up in the “dirty side” of the storm.
As such, storm surge around 10 feet high — along with waves reaching up to 20 feet tall — carried through the barrier islands, including Palm Beach.
The hurricane continued northwest toward Lake Okeechobee, causing the lake to surge 6-9 feet. This sparked major flooding that swallowed the surrounding area.
Eventually, the storm curved northward and left the state near Jacksonville as a Category 1 hurricane, though close to 2,000 people in Florida were left dead in its wake.
Meanwhile, property damage in the state was estimated at $25 million.
2. Cape Sable Hurricane of 1947
This hurricane kicked off as a tropical storm off the coast of Nicaragua in October 1947. Just two days later, though, it intensified into a full-blown hurricane — just in time to strike Florida.
The hurricane made landfall just north of Cape Sable in southwest Florida — hence the storm’s name — and moved northeast, eventually leaving the east coast between Miami and Palm Beach. Some observers claimed the storm winds reached nearly 150 mph.
While this storm didn’t bring much rainfall (by hurricane standards, at least), it followed hot on the tail of another major hurricane just one month prior.
Combined with a generally wet season in Florida, this led to severe flooding across huge segments of South Florida.
In fact, experts said around 90% of the eastern Florida peninsula south of Orlando was flooded — around 5 million square acres in total.
In response to the catastrophic floods, the South Florida Water Management District was established to develop flood control plans.
Nowadays, their mission is to “manage and protect water resources of the region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems, and water supply.”
3. Hurricane Dora (1964)
This Category 4 hurricane struck Florida’s northeast coast in September 1964, moving over St. Augustine just after midnight.
It was also the first hurricane that century to make landfall over northeast Florida.
However, thanks to the angle of approach and strong winds, tides reached up to 8 feet higher than normal along the coast, with some hitting an estimated 12 feet moving across Anastasia Island.
The heavy storm surge damaged or destroyed several roads along the coastline, with over 40 homes being lost thanks to the storm.
Of course, that wasn’t the end. Dora made a turn toward Georgia, meaning the huge volume of rain it brought was dumped over much of North Florida.
In the town of Mayo, total rainfall from the storm reached nearly 24 inches, and the heavily flooded town of Live Oak reached nearly 19 inches and a recorded drowning death.
In all, Dora produced over $200 million in estimated storm damage (worth around $3 billion in 2012).
4. Tropical Storm Fay (2008)
Next on the list is Tropical Storm Fay, which touched down in Florida near Key West (and again in Naples) in August 2008.
Fay was powerful, but it moved slowly when passing through Central Florida.
As a result, the storm dumped over 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Central Florida during its trek across the state, sparking plenty of flash floods.
In north Melbourne alone, the NWS estimated nearly 28 inches of rain, and record-breaking water rises were recorded along the St. Johns River.
While Fay made its way out of the state near Melbourne, that wasn’t all that the storm had in store.
Instead of just leaving, it turned west and made landfall for a third time near Daytona Beach. Near Geneva, the river peaked at over 11 feet, which was the highest on record.
Worse yet, Fay was notorious for generating tornados, causing 19 to form in Florida (out of 81 total in the U.S.).
One EF1 tornado struck a manufactured home community in Brevard County, demolishing 9 homes and damaging 50 others, according to the NWS.
There were a total of five deaths in Florida attributed to Fay, as well as $195 million of estimated property damage in Florida.
5. Tropical Storm Debby (2012)
In June 2012, Tropical Storm Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee in Florida’s “Big Bend” region.
While the storm largely weakened after hitting the coast, it moved very slowly, meaning that North Florida suffered from prolonged periods of heavy rainfall.
As Debby crawled eastward across the state, it brought persistent rainfall that lasted 36-48 hours in some places across North Florida. Over 10 inches of rain were reported north of Tampa, and some places reached as high as 20 inches.
In addition, the Sopchoppy River saw a 29-foot rise in around 30 hours, causing severe flooding for nearby communities. And while that was a noteworthy area for flooding, it wasn’t the only one.
The Sopchoppy River flood impacted at least 400 buildings, but Black Creek in Clay County rose high enough to impact nearly 600 homes along its bank thanks to its massive flood levels (the second-highest on record at the time).
Like with Hurricane Dora in 1964, Live Oak again suffered from horrific flooding along the Suwannee River, which managed to close a portion of U.S. Highway 90 for nearly two weeks.
In all, Debby caused over $40 million in flood damage across the state, as well as $250 million in total storm damage.
There were also four people killed by the storm: one woman died from a tornado, another person drowned in rough surf along Pinellas County’s coast, a third drowned when his canoe flipped in Lake County, and yet another was determined to have drowned after his/her body was found floating in flood waters near Anclote Key.