559 flood insurance claims·$8.7M paid·7 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 Calvert 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.
Riverine and inland flooding dominates Calvert County, supported by 28 flood events and 23 flash flood events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years, alongside 12 coastal flood, 4 tropical storm, and 4 storm surge/tide events. Severe weather impacts are documented in recent NOAA narratives, such as a strong low-pressure system on December 18, 2023, which brought 1.5 to 4 inches of rainfall and caused creeks and streams to reach minor to moderate flood stages alongside numerous road closures. A separate coastal flood event on January 9, 2024, featured strong southerly wind gusts up to 55 mph that raised water levels to major levels along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
Federal insurance data underscores distinct risks across flood zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 389 filings, averaging a $21,781 payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 80 claims with an average payout of $16,092 and an average recorded water depth of 33 inches, while unshaded Zone X properties saw 48 claims averaging a $16,507 payout with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone V properties recorded 22 claims with an average payout of $14,241 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and unknown zones logged 11 claims averaging a $25,346 payout with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Property owners in designated high-risk coastal and riverine areas, as well as those in Zone X with significant recorded water depths, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Calvert County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
468 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 9 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 2003, with 246 claims and $6.2M paid, the year of Snow and Hurricane Isabel.
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.
20 NOAA storm reports from Calvert County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 3, 2020 |
| 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 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
71 since 1996: 23 flash floods, 28 river or area floods and 16 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 22, 2022 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 29, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Aug 20, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jul 9, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Flood · Dec 18, 2023. An area of low pressure moved along the Atlantic seaboard bringing widespread rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 4 inches. This resulted in numerous creeks, streams, and rivers reaching minor to moderate flood stage. Numerous roads were closed in areas as well.
Flood · May 22, 2022. A strong cold front produced multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms resulting in some isolated instances of flooding on May 22nd. There was some slow-response flooding that occurred a couple of days later in southern MD, which was lumped into this event as well.
Coastal Flood · Oct 29, 2021. A strong pressure gradient between low pressure over the Ohio Valley and strong high pressure over Quebec, CA resulted in a strong southeast onshore flow that brought the highest water levels to the Chesapeake Bay region and Tidal Potomac River since Tropical Storm Isabel in September 2003.
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 Calvert 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.