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Sumatra, Florida

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1946 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the East Liberty census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32321. It stands on Hog Branch Black Creek. The Survey maps it on the Sumatra quadrangle. 187 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 26 feet above sea level.

Sumatra within Liberty County

Then and now

1946 to 1990

The same ground, surveyed 44 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Sumatra, surveyed 1990
Topographic sheet of Sumatra, surveyed 1946

Compare 1946 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Sumatra grew from 148 to 187 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
2010148
2020187+39 (+26%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 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

77 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 77 fires within 5 miles of Sumatra between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12,411 acres in total. 36 started naturally. 7 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
Natural36
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Arson/incendiarism7
Recreation and ceremony5
Debris and open burning5
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Smoking3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 1996Naturalunder an acreNational Forests in FloridaMINI MARK III
30 September 2006Power generation/transmission/distribution1.6 acresNational Forests in FloridaVOLUNTEER
10 September 1996Natural99 acresNational Forests in FloridaLITTLE OWL CREEK
1 September 2011Natural2.5 acresNational Forests in FloridaHOG BRANCH
6 August 1996Natural12 acresNational Forests in FloridaFLAT
30 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined82 acresNational Forests in Florida135-A
23 August 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreNational Forests in FloridaBLACK CREEK
20 August 2002Natural2.0 acresNational Forests in FloridaHOG

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Liberty County

Storms near this place

13 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sumatra in 13 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
September 2024Flash FloodSumatra$50,000Flash flooding in the Sumatra area inundated one home.
March 2005Thunderstorm WindSumatra$50,000The Liberty County Sheriff reported minor damage to homes, as well as downed trees and power lines.
January 2006Tornado (F0)Sumatra$10,000A tornado touched down briefly and tossed an unoccupied trailer. It also downed some power lines. Reported by the Liberty County EMA.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindSumatra$10,000Trees fell on power lines. Subsequent power outage disrupted water supply to the Sweetwater community. Reported by the Liberty County Sheriff.
October 2014Tornado (EF0)Sumatra$5,000Trees were blown down and a roof was blown off a shed in the vicinity of Sumatra. A tornadic debris signature was also seen by KTLH radar. This tornado was rated EF0 with winds of 65 to 75 mph. Monetary damage was estimated.
March 2002Thunderstorm WindSumatra$5,000Trees and power lines down on State Highway 65. Reported by the Liberty County Sheriff.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindSumatra$2,000Power lines were blown down near Highway 65 and Forest Road 181.
September 2024Flash FloodSumatra-Forest Road 120 was flooded.
December 2022Tornado (EF0)Sumatra-A tornadic debris signature (TDS) tracked through portions of rural Liberty county in the Apalachicola National Forest. Only tree damage occurred in this rural area, and the tornado is rated EF0.
February 2016Thunderstorm WindSumatra-A tree was blown across SR-65 near Sumatra.
February 2016Thunderstorm WindSumatra-Multiple trees were blown down in Sumatra.
October 2014Tornado (EF0)Sumatra-The KTLH dual-pol radar detected a tornadic debris signature at this location. This is in the middle of the Apalachicola National Forest with no damage to structures reported. The tornado was rated EF0 based on tree damage.
December 2011Heavy RainSumatra-A storm total rainfall of 4.03 inches was measured by the Sumatra RAWS site.

Every storm recorded in Liberty 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
Owl Landing2.0 miles15
Escambia (historical)4.3 miles15
Bon Ami6.5 miles14
Kern7.6 miles13
Twin Pole8.9 miles14
White Oak Landing8.9 miles15
Wilma9.3 miles13
Central City11.9 miles13

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 SumatraAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5306648The 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 306462. 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.

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.