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Sebastian, Florida

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1949 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Vero Beach census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32958. The Survey maps it on the Sebastian quadrangle. 25,054 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 20 feet above sea level.

Sebastian within Indian River County

Then and now

1949 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 39 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Sebastian, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Sebastian, surveyed 1949

On record in Sebastian

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 7 records

Population over time

2 figures

Sebastian grew from 21,929 to 25,054 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201021,929
202025,054+3,125 (+14%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 17 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

132 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 132 fires within 5 miles of Sebastian between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,002 acres in total. 40 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Natural40
Railroad operations and maintenance18
Misuse of fire by a minor17
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Arson/incendiarism14
Equipment and vehicle use14
Recreation and ceremony5
Debris and open burning4
Smoking2
Fireworks1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresFlorida Forest ServiceWAGON (05)
3 September 2001Natural1.5 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
18 September 1996Naturalunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
15 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use8.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
7 August 2012Naturalunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceARMADILLO (31)
5 August 2005Natural60 acresFlorida Forest ServiceIR-MAIN STREET FIRE-1033
30 August 2011Natural4.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceDEEP DITCH (31)
30 August 1999Naturalunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Indian River County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Sebastian: 3 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Every working recorded in Indian River County

Storms near this place

28 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sebastian in 28 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 8 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 5 flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 4 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2023LightningSebastian2 hurtA 11 year old girl visiting from Minnesota was struck and severely injured by a lightning strike at Sebastian Inlet State Park. As of a September 1st news report, the girl was still unconscious and is expected to be permanently disabled. Her mom was also injured but was later released from the hospital. Time estimated via lightning strike data.
August 2011LightningSebastian1 hurtThe current from the lightning strike reportedly passed through the water, went through the boat's motor, metal steering cables and into the wheel that the man held. The strike caused the man to lose consciousness and temporarily stopped his heart. A nurse at the dock performed CPR until his pulse returned. The man was transported to a local hospital and was treated for kidney and ear drum injuries.
June 2000LightningSebastian1 hurtA fifteen year old boy was struck and seriously injured by lightning while on a surfboard at Sebastion Inlet in Indian River County.
September 1998Tornado (F1)Sebastian$700,000A tornadic waterspout move on shore from the Indian River Lagoon and crossed the north part of Sebastian knocking down trees and severly damaging the roof of a large factor building.
June 2001Tornado (F1)Sebastian$200,000An F1 tornado touched down in the western part of Sebastian and moved southeast along a 2 mile path through the town. It blew down numerous trees, damaged roofs, destroyed pool screens, and sheds. The garage door was blown in and one fourth of the roof was blown off of one house.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindSebastian$100,000no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindSebastian$60,000Thunderstorms winds from the west blew across Sebastian and the Intracoastal Waterway overturning three moored vessels. They were a 38 foot trimaran, a 28 foot sailboat and a 54 foot steel research vessel. About 20 trees were blown down on a spoil island east of the overturned vessels.
August 2008FloodSebastian$20,000no account filed
April 1997Thunderstorm WindSebastian$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew down limbs and destroyed a pool screen in Sebastian.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindSebastian$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew down limbs and destroyed a pool screen in Sebastian.
September 2001Tornado (F0)Sebastian$3,000A rain band associated with Tropical Storm Gabrielle moving north along the Florida coastline produced a small F0 tornado just south of Sebastian Inlet. The tornado was on the ground briefly, blowing down a few trees, damaging a camp trailer and a picnic shelter.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindSebastian$1,000Emergency manager reported that State Road A1A was closed in the Pelican Island National Wildlife Preserve due to powerlines blocking the roadway.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindSebastian-A mesonet station at Sebastian Inlet Pier measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph from the northeast.
September 2017FloodSebastian-Rainbands associated with Hurricane Irma produced rainfall totals between 8 and 15 inches, resulting in areas of urban and poor drainage flooding, especially across the southern portion of the county. Numerous roadways were impacted by significant levels of standing water and many retention ponds reached capacity or overflowed. See the separate entry for the more significant (flash) flooding which affected the Fellsmere area.
October 2016FloodSebastian-Rainbands associated with Hurricane Matthew produced rainfall totals between 3.5 and 4.5 inches, resulting in areas of mostly minor urban and poor drainage flooding. Several roadways were impacted by significant ponding.
February 2007Thunderstorm WindSebastian-Numerous three to five inch diameter tree limbs were blown down. Pea size hail was reported.
January 2004HailSebastian-One inch hail was reported at Sebastian Inlet.
October 2000FloodSebastian-Heavy rain from a weak tropical depression dropped three to four inches of rain over southern Brevard and Indian River counties. Widespread minor roadway flooding was reported in Sebastian and in Vero Beach.
August 1999FloodSebastian-Heavy rains flooded numerous roads along U. S. Highway 1 in northern Indian River County. About 6 vehicles were reported disabled due to high water.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindSebastian-Thunderstorm winds blew down power lines in Sebastian.
May 1998WaterspoutSebastian-A waterspout was sighted off the coast of Sebastian Inlet.
March 2001HailSebastian-no account filed
June 2001HailSebastian-no account filed
May 1999Funnel CloudSebastian-no account filed
May 1999HailSebastian-no account filed
June 1997HailSebastian-no account filed
March 1996Funnel CloudSebastian-no account filed
March 1996HailSebastian-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Indian River County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Cummings1.4 miles17
Roseland1.8 miles17
North Beach3.6 miles17
Orchid4.1 miles17
Wabasso5.0 miles19
Wabasso Beach5.2 miles17
Brookside5.5 miles17
Vero Lake Estates5.8 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on SebastianAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q986174The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 295607. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.