422 flood insurance claims·$15.8M 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 Howard 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 severe summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Howard County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 90 flash flood events and 3 deaths, alongside 71 general flood events and 2 tropical storms. Recent events illustrate this hazard: on July 9, 2025, an anomalously moist airmass brought instantaneous rain rates approaching five to six inches an hour, and on July 31, 2025, slow-moving thunderstorms trained over the same areas, producing widespread flash flooding with localized amounts up to six inches.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk coastal or riverine areas into moderate- and low-risk zones. Zone A accounts for 184 claims with an average payout of $75,309 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X accumulated 152 claims averaging $30,430 with an average recorded water depth of 18 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded 79 claims averaging $38,085 with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within both regulated Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zone A) and moderate-to-low risk zones (Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED), where localized heavy rainfall frequently generates significant property damage and standing water.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
30% of Howard County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
264 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 2018, with 121 claims and $8.0M paid, the year of Severe Storm and 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.
41 NOAA storm reports from Howard County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | May 27, 2018 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Jul 30, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Snowstorm | Feb 12, 2014 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 6, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
163 since 1996: 90 flash floods and 71 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 8, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2025. A slow moving cold front combined with a highly unstable atmosphere along with tropical moisture to produce slow moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. Some of these storms trained over the same areas, resulting in scattered to numerous instances of flash flooding. Total rainfall amounts in areas with flash flooding averaged two to four inches, though some localized amounts up to six inches were observed.
Flash Flood · May 30, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed along a slow moving cold front and produced a quick one to locally three inches of rain in a short period of time.
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.
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 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.
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 Howard 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.