2,633 flood insurance claims·$26.1M paid·10 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Maricopa County, Arizona. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and slow-moving low pressure systems dominates the flood risk in Maricopa County, which recorded 580 flash flood events and 15 deaths compared to 81 general flood events and 4 deaths over the last 30 years. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall rates and training showers along State Route 238 in May 2025, alongside near-record moisture levels that produced 1 to 2 inches of rain across northern portions of the Phoenix area in June 2025. Unstable conditions also drove strong thunderstorms across south-central and southwest Arizona in August 2025.
Property owners and real estate agents should pay close attention across all flood zones, as historical NFIP claims reflect distinct impacts by zone. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume at 1,196 claims, averaging a $12,731 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 494 claims with a higher average payout of $34,512 and a deeper average recorded water depth of 16 inches. Additional claims occurred in Zone UNKNOWN (461 claims, averaging a $7,733 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches), Zone X_SHADED (407 claims, averaging a $6,828 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches), and Zone X_UNSHADED (61 claims, averaging a $13,084 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches).
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
28% of Maricopa County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,666 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 5 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1978, with 317 claims and $2.1M paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
554 NOAA storm reports from Maricopa County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arizona flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Boulder View Fire | Jun 28, 2024 |
| Rose Fire | Jun 12, 2024 |
| Diamond Fire | Jun 27, 2023 |
| Avondale Fire | Jun 27, 2020 |
| Aquila Fire | Jun 23, 2020 |
| Bush Fire | Jun 20, 2020 |
| Ocotillo Fire | May 30, 2020 |
| East Desert Fire | May 17, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
661 since 1996: 580 flash floods and 81 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | $60,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | $200,000 · 1 killed |
| Flood | Aug 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 25, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2025. A slow-moving low pressure system brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms over multiple days through much of the region. Activity on the 25th was mostly concentrated across higher terrain areas of eastern AZ, fueled by MLCAPE values approaching 2000 J/kg. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, producing rainfall accumulations of over 2 inches in less than one hour across t…
Flash Flood · Sep 26, 2025. A slow-moving low pressure system brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms over multiple days through much of the region. Activity on the 25th was mostly concentrated across higher terrain areas of eastern AZ, fueled by MLCAPE values approaching 2000 J/kg. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, producing rainfall accumulations of over 2 inches in less than one hour across t…
Flood · Aug 26, 2025. A cluster of thunderstorms developed across southwestern portions of the Phoenix area, near the Avondale and Goodyear area and then migrated northeastward into the north Phoenix and Scottsdale areas. With MLCAPE values between 500-1000 J/KG and DCAPE values of 1000 J/KG, it was enough to support isolated damaging wind gusts. In addition, with PWATs of around 1.5, the environment was sufficiently conducive to suppo…
Flood · Aug 25, 2025. The environment across south-central and southwest Arizona on August 25th was primed for strong to severe thunderstorms with very moist and unstable conditions in place. The synoptic pattern featured a subtropical ridge of high pressure centered over northern New Mexico, promoting southeasterly flow aloft over Arizona and allowing for moisture advection into the region, while a Pacific trough to the west promoted…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Maricopa County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.