341 flood insurance claims·$8.1M 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 Kent 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 dominates the flood history of Kent County, which recorded 21 flash flood events alongside coastal flooding, tropical storms, and storm surges over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate these hazards, such as an October 2021 coastal flood that brought moderate tidal flooding to the upper eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay due to a prolonged onshore flow, and a September 2021 flash flood driven by thunderstorms that produced rainfall totals as high as 3 to 5 inches.
National Flood Insurance Program records show varying impacts across different zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 263 filings, averaging a payout of $30,969 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Properties in zones categorized as X, X_Shaded, and X_Unshaded also recorded claims, with average payouts ranging from $15,994 to $39,222 and average water depths of 0 to 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which experience the highest frequency of claims and deepest average water levels, as well as coastal parcels exposed to tidal flooding from the Chesapeake Bay and low-lying areas vulnerable to heavy rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Kent County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
305 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 6 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 250 claims and $6.7M 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Kent County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
21 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 |
| 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.
37 since 1996: 21 flash floods, 3 river or area floods and 9 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 29, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 12, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Aug 21, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Jan 10, 2024. A strong system affected the region with steady southerly flow pushing water up into coastal communities both along the ocean and within the Delaware River/Bay and Chesapeake Bay. Water levels on the tidal Delaware River were higher due to 2 to 4+ inches of rainfall.
Coastal Flood · Oct 29, 2021. Strong high pressure located in eastern Canada and slow moving low pressure approaching from the southeastern states resulted in a prolonged onshore flow along the Middle Atlantic coast. Moderate tidal flooding occurred along the upper eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay on the night of October 29.
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2021. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rain in northeastern Maryland on the morning of September 23. Rainfall totals were as high as 3 to 5 inches.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2020. An impulse moving along a stalled boundary draped across the region, in combination with moisture left over from Hurricane Isaias, produced severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and flooding rains over the eastern shore of Maryland during the early morning hours of August 6th.
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 Kent 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.