Enter any address in Maricopa County, Arizona to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates Maricopa County's flood events. Over the last 30 years, NOAA Storm Events data shows 580 flash flood events, resulting in 15 fatalities, compared to 81 flood events with 4 deaths. Recent events include flash flooding on May 4th and June 2nd, 2025, driven by deep low-pressure systems and tropical moisture.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data indicates that while Zone A areas have the most claims, Zone X areas have seen higher average payouts and water depths. Specifically, Zone X areas averaged $19,490 in payouts with 5.9 feet of water depth, compared to Zone A's average payout of $8,030 and 1.4 feet of water depth. Homeowners in Zone X, Zone A, and areas with unknown flood risk should pay close attention to flood preparedness.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
554 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Maricopa County, Arizona has recorded 661 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 580 flash floods and 81 river or area floods. The county has received 27 federal disaster declarations, 10 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1966–2024)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Boulder View Fire | Fire | Jun 28, 2024 |
| Rose Fire | Fire | Jun 12, 2024 |
| Diamond Fire | Fire | Jun 27, 2023 |
| Avondale Fire | Fire | Jun 27, 2020 |
| Aquila Fire | Fire | Jun 23, 2020 |
| Bush Fire | Fire | Jun 20, 2020 |
| Ocotillo Fire | Fire | May 30, 2020 |
| East Desert Fire | Fire | May 17, 2020 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2025 | 20.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | 20.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | 60.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | 200.00K (1 deaths) |
| Flood | Aug 26, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Aug 25, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2025 | 20.00K |
| Flash Flood | Nov 19, 2025 | 0.00K |
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 th...
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 th...
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 sufficientl...
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 t...
Flash Flood — Sep 19, 2025
Upper-level troughing off the west coast promoted a pocket of upper-level divergence over south-central AZ. With MLCAPE values ranging between 250-500 J/kg and PWAT values near 1.5, scattered thunderstorm activity with heavy rainfall rates developed across portions of the Phoenix metro area and were steered northeastward into northern Maricopa County. Although the thunderstorm activity was rath...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Maricopa County, Arizona:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Maricopa County, Arizona that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.