377 flood insurance claims·$5.4M paid·6 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 Allegany County, Maryland. 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 heavy rainfall and slow-moving storms dominates Allegany County, supported by NOAA Storm Events Database records showing 61 flash flood events compared to 48 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent destructive weather includes events in May 2025, when a slow-moving upper-level low originating from the Gulf of Mexico brought anomalous moisture and rain rates exceeding two inches an hour. This system dropped localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across western Maryland mostly within a six-hour period, leading to widespread flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk spans multiple zones. Zone A has experienced the highest volume of claims at 236, with an average payout of $18,382 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have recorded the highest average payout at $57,918 with an average water depth of 2 inches, and Zone X unshaded properties averaged 8 inches of recorded water depth across 42 claims. Zone X shaded properties recorded 47 claims with an average payout of $7,067 and an average water depth of 5 inches, while unknown zones averaged 9 inches of water depth across 10 claims. Homeowners in Zone A, Zone X, and unshaded Zone X areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk given the high claim volumes and severe payout averages.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Allegany County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
325 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 1996, with 181 claims and $2.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms and Flooding Assoc With Tropical Storm Fran.
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.
50 NOAA storm reports from Allegany County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Snow | Feb 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
109 since 1996: 61 flash floods and 48 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 15, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 6, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 14, 2025. A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area. A long duration period of rain ensued, with rain rates exceeding two inches an hour during the afternoon of May 13th. The slow moving storms coupled with training led to localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across western Maryland, with lesser amounts of two to four inches across central…
Flash Flood · May 13, 2025. A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area. A long duration period of rain ensued, with rain rates exceeding two inches an hour during the afternoon of May 13th. The slow moving storms coupled with training led to localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across western Maryland, with lesser amounts of two to four inches across central…
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2024. Heavy rainfall along a stalled boundary led to instances of flash flooding.
Flood · Aug 9, 2024. The remnants of Debby tracked through the area Thursday night into Friday, August 8th into August 9th. Tropical moisture combined with lift from the remnants to cause heavy rain across much of Virginia. The heavy rain led to several instances of flash flooding and flooding.
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 Allegany 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.