King Tide Flood Damage in South Florida: How to File a Flood Claim (2026)

Short answer

King tide damage is a flood claim. Here is what to do this week.

Tidal water that rises out of the bay, a canal, or the ocean is "flood" under insurance law. Standard homeowners, condo unit owner, commercial property, and association master policies exclude it. The claim goes to your National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy or your private flood policy. For a loss on September 27, 2026, the NFIP signed and sworn proof of loss is due within 60 days: about November 26, 2026, unless FEMA extends it.

1. 01Report the loss to your flood carrier now, in writing, and get a claim number. If you do not know who writes your flood policy, check your declarations page, your mortgage escrow statement, or ask your agent.
2. 02Photograph every waterline before cleanup: walls, garage columns, elevator pits, electrical panels, pumps, and water heaters. Date stamp everything.
3. 03Keep every invoice for pumping, drying, electrician, and elevator contractor work. Mitigation costs are part of the claim.
4. 04Do not discard damaged equipment until it has been photographed, tagged with model and serial numbers, and inspected.
5. 05Put the 60-day proof of loss date on the calendar. The carrier's adjuster may prepare a proof of loss for you, but you are the one who signs it, and you can submit your own if the numbers are incomplete.

What happened, September 26 to 29, 2026

The fall king tides arrived with more water than South Florida has seen in years. The Port Everglades tide gauge reached its highest level since it was installed in 2018, above the reading during Hurricane Nicole in 2022. The Virginia Key gauge hit 2.94 feet on Saturday, September 26, the fourth highest on record there. Sunday morning's high tide on September 27 was the peak. Then on Tuesday, September 29, heavy rain fell on top of a high tide and flooded parts of Broward and Miami-Dade again.

Reported flooding, city by city:

• Miami Beach: Collins Avenue with water at street level; West Avenue and Lincoln Road on the bay side; Crespi Boulevard in North Beach. Two condominiums, Sunshine Bay at 1441 Lincoln Court and Lincoln Bay Towers at 1450 Lincoln Road, lost power, elevators, and hot water for four to five days after their garages and below-grade electrical rooms flooded. FPL said the customer-owned equipment had to be repaired before service could be restored.
• Fort Lauderdale: police closed about two miles of A1A to traffic.
• Hollywood: the Broadwalk went under saltwater and businesses closed; Garfield Street and Grant Street flooded.
• Hallandale Beach: streets flooded two weeks running.
• Pompano Beach: Canal Drive and South Riverside Drive flooded.
• Dania Beach: sits on the same Intracoastal shoreline between the Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale flooding. Owners of ground-floor and below-grade space there should check garages, mechanical rooms, and equipment, even if the street drained quickly.
• Miami: NE 79th Street flooded.
• Key Largo: tidal flooding reported along low roads and properties.

Why your property policy says no and your flood policy says yes

Almost every Florida property policy, homeowners, condo unit owner (HO-6), commercial property, and association master policy alike, excludes flood. Flood includes rising tidal water, storm surge, and the overflow of inland or tidal waters. A king tide is a textbook example. That is why a property carrier will usually deny a king tide claim, and why the right place to file is the flood policy.

The rain on September 29 complicates things. If rain came through a damaged roof, a window, or a wall opening, that water may be a regular property claim under your property policy. If rainwater pooled on the ground and rose into the building alongside the tide, that is flood. Many buildings had both. The two claims go to two different carriers with two different adjusters, and the way the damage is described on day one shapes which policy pays for what.

A few other coverages are worth checking but usually will not help here. Sewer and drain backup endorsements commonly exclude backup caused by flood. Equipment breakdown coverage commonly excludes flood. Business income and extra expense on a commercial property policy generally follow the property policy, so if the flood exclusion applies to the damage, the income loss usually is not covered there either. Read the actual endorsement language before you assume either way.

What flood insurance covers below ground

This is the part most building owners get wrong. NFIP coverage in a basement, which includes any area whose floor is below ground level on all sides, such as many below-grade garages and electrical rooms, is limited. Finished walls, floors, and most contents down there are not covered. But the NFIP's own list of covered items in those areas includes much of what flooded in Miami Beach and Hollywood last week:

• Central air conditioning equipment, furnaces, and water heaters.
• Electrical junction boxes and circuit breaker boxes, and the electrical outlets and switches tied to them.
• Elevators, dumbwaiters, and their related equipment, subject to a limit on related equipment installed below the base flood elevation after September 30, 1987.
• Pumps, including sump pumps, well water tanks and pumps, and cisterns.
• Fuel tanks and the fuel in them, and solar energy equipment.
• Foundation elements, posts, pilings, and stairways attached to the building.
• Cleanup expenses.

For a condominium whose garage switchgear, elevator controls, and domestic hot water system took saltwater, that list is the claim. Saltwater is also corrosive, and damage to electrical and elevator components can show up days or weeks after the water recedes. Have the equipment tested by a licensed electrician and an elevator contractor, and get their findings in writing, before the scope is finalized.

The 60-day proof of loss deadline

Under the NFIP Standard Flood Insurance Policy, you must send the carrier a signed and sworn proof of loss within 60 days after the loss. Counted from this event, that is about November 25 for a September 26 loss, November 26 for a September 27 loss, and November 28 for a September 29 loss. FEMA sometimes extends that window after large events, but do not plan around an extension until it is announced in writing.

The proof of loss is your statement of the amount you are claiming, with supporting documents. The carrier's adjuster often prepares one for your signature based on the adjuster's estimate. You are not required to sign a number you believe is incomplete. You can submit your own proof of loss with your own documentation, and you can file for additional amounts later if more damage is found, within the policy's rules. Private flood policies set their own proof of loss terms, so read yours.

One more NFIP timing rule: new flood policies generally have a 30-day waiting period before they take effect. A policy bought in early October will generally not be in force for the October 9 to 11 peak.

Condo associations, unit owners, and business owners

Condominium associations: the building claim, including common elements, garages, mechanical and electrical rooms, and elevators, belongs to the association's Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP) or private flood policy. RCBAP building coverage can reach $250,000 per unit, subject to the building's replacement cost and the policy's limits. The board should document the whole building, keep minutes of what it decided and when, and coordinate with the property manager so one complete file goes to the carrier.

Unit owners: an individual NFIP dwelling policy for a condo unit covers the owner's building elements and contents up to its own limits, and can respond to a loss assessment the association levies for flood damage, within the policy's terms. If you only have an HO-6 policy, expect the flood exclusion to apply.

Business owners and commercial buildings: NFIP commercial coverage reaches up to $500,000 for the building and $500,000 for contents. NFIP does not cover business income or lost rent. Some private flood policies do, so check the declarations. Ground-floor retail and restaurants along the Hollywood Broadwalk and Collins Avenue should inventory damaged equipment and stock now, with photos and purchase records.

What to document before the next tide

• Waterline photos and video on every affected wall, column, and piece of equipment, with a ruler or tape in frame.
• Model and serial numbers of every damaged panel, transformer, pump, elevator component, water heater, and air handler.
• Contractor and electrician reports stating what failed and why.
• FPL or utility correspondence about disconnection and reconnection.
• Invoices for emergency pumping, drying, generator rental, and temporary repairs.
• Tide gauge readings and news coverage for the date of loss, saved as PDFs.
• For associations: board minutes, resident notices, and the property manager's incident log.

Upcoming king tide dates for South Florida

The fall king tide season is not over. Forecast windows for the rest of 2026:

• October 7 to 13, with the peak around October 9 to 11. Forecasts call for water slightly higher than late September.
• October 22 to November 12, with October 26 to 29 the worst stretch according to Palm Beach County.
• November 22 to 29.
• December 22 to 27, forecast to be the highest of the year.

A developing El Nino raises the odds of heavy rain landing on a high tide, which is exactly what happened on September 29. If your building flooded once, assume it can flood again. Document the current condition now, so a second event is not blended into the first. Each event can be its own date of loss with its own 60-day clock.

How a licensed public adjuster helps on a flood claim

NFIP claims are adjusted by an adjuster working for the Write Your Own insurance company that services your policy. That adjuster works for the carrier. A Florida licensed public adjuster works for you, the policyholder. On a flood claim, the work is documentation and accuracy: inspecting the building, building a line-item scope that includes the covered below-grade equipment, separating flood damage from any rain or wind damage that belongs on the property policy, preparing the proof of loss, and keeping the deadlines.

The first estimate on a large flood loss is often incomplete, usually because equipment damage was not fully known at the time of the inspection. James Coyne worked as a carrier-side adjuster before becoming a public adjuster, so he knows how a carrier's file gets built and where it tends to come up short. A public adjuster does not provide legal advice and cannot promise an outcome. What a public adjuster can do is make sure the carrier is looking at a complete, documented claim before the deadline.

Commonly Asked Questions

Related

• Public adjusters in Miami and Miami Beach →
• Public adjusters in Fort Lauderdale →
• Public adjusters in Aventura and north Miami-Dade →
• For condo and HOA boards →
• For property managers →
• Should you hire a public adjuster? →
• Underpaid or denied claim: what to do next →
• Contact Coyne Commercial Group →

About the Author

James Coyne

Florida Licensed Public Adjuster, License W482618. Founder of Coyne Commercial Group, Firm License G350978, Sanford, Florida. Represents commercial property owners, condominium and HOA associations, and homeowners on insurance claims statewide.

Sources

• CBS Miami: king tide flooding in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Hollywood Beach (September 2026)
• CBS Miami: Miami Beach condos lose power after king tide flooding (Sunshine Bay)
• Hoodline: king tides swamp South Florida streets, Fort Lauderdale highway shut down
• FEMA NFIP: Summary of Coverage, Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (May 2024)
• NFIP Standard Flood Insurance Policy: proof of loss within 60 days of the loss; 30-day waiting period for new policies
• Fla. Stat. § 626.854 : definition and duties of a Florida public adjuster

This page is for general information, not legal advice or a coverage determination. Confirm any deadline or obligation against your policy, your association’s governing documents, and current Florida law.