1,065 flood insurance claims·$26.7M 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 Baltimore city, 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 severe summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates Baltimore City's flood profile, accounting for 56 of the 94 flood events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years, alongside 4 deaths. Coastal flooding and general flooding make up the remainder of the event mix. Recent history includes a July 14, 2025 flash flood event driven by an anomalously moist airmass producing 2 to 4 inches of localized rainfall in a short period, as well as moderate coastal flooding on August 9, 2024, caused by persistent southeast flow from slow-moving Tropical Storm Debby.
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program records show claims concentrated heavily in high-risk areas. Zone A properties experienced 557 claims with an average payout of $49,447 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Moderate and lower-risk areas also face financial loss; Zone X recorded 232 claims with an average payout of $14,489 and an average water depth of 5 inches, while unshaded Zone X saw 196 claims averaging $14,561 with an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A due to the severity of recorded flood depths and payouts, while recognizing that properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X zones also experience repeated claims from heavy rainfall and localized flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Baltimore city’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
774 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 8 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 1979, with 188 claims and $2.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Baltimore city describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 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 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
94 since 1996: 56 flash floods, 15 river or area floods and 20 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 12, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Apr 30, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. Another day of an anomalously moist airmass produced numerous showers and thunderstorms across Maryland. This resulted in localized rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches in a short period of time, which resulted in instances of flooding and flash flooding.
Coastal Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A strong area of low pressure tracked from the mid MS River Valley on Jan 9th to the Northeast U.S. Jan 10th. A very strong pressure gradient ahead of the low pressure center resulted in a long period of strong southerly winds gusting up to 55 mph that raised water levels to major levels at several locations along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
Coastal Flood · Aug 9, 2024. Persistent SE flow on the east side of slow moving Tropical Storm Debby resulted in moderate coastal flooding at several locations along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2023. A cold front triggered showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms trained over the same areas, resulting in isolated instances of flooding and flash flooding around Baltimore.
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 Baltimore city 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.