703 flood insurance claims·$13.8M paid·8 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 Cecil 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 and river flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate the flood character of Cecil County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 56 flash flood events and 43 flood events, compared to only 3 tropical storm events, 3 coastal flood events, and 1 storm surge or tide event. Recent NOAA narratives illustrate these threats, such as slow-moving storms on July 16, 2025, that produced localized rainfall amounts of two to five inches, and storms on July 10, 2025, with rain rates approaching five to six inches an hour that resulted in storm totals of one and a half to four inches.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties in high-risk Zone A have experienced the highest impact with 442 claims, an average payout of $29,315, and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas also face vulnerability, with 81 claims averaging a $22,273 payout and 7 inches of recorded water depth, alongside 65 claims in shaded Zone X averaging a $19,908 payout and 10 inches of water depth. Homeowners and real estate agents in these mapped zones, particularly those in Zone A and Zone X, should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Cecil County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
552 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 10 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 192 claims and $5.7M 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Cecil County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 8 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 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 6, 2011 |
| 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.
106 since 1996: 56 flash floods, 43 river or area floods and 4 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 27, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 4, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2025. An anomalously moist airmass with tropical moisture resided over much of Maryland on July 16th. This comes after several days of showers and thunderstorms, which left some areas with suppressed flash flood guidance. Slow moving thunderstorms developed on remnant boundaries and terrain circulations before propagating eastward. These storms produced localized rainfall amounts of two to five inches.
Flood · Jul 10, 2025. An anomalously moist airmass ahead of a frontal boundary sparked numerous showers and thunderstorms across Maryland. Instantaneous rain rates approached five to six inches an hour in the bigger storms. Storm total rainfall of one and a half to four inches resulted in flooding and flash flooding in areas throughout the evening of July 9th.
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2025. An area of slow moving thunderstorms trained along a residual boundary across northeast Maryland. This resulted in heavy rain and a localized two to four inches of rain over a two hour period.
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. An area of low pressure tracked through the Ohio River Valley and up through the Great Lakes Region. A strong low level jet enhanced moisture flow into the low pressure system leading to an extended period of moderate rain that caused widespread minor flooding with isolated moderate 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 Cecil 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.