1,158 flood insurance claims·$7.9M 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 Prince George's 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood character of Prince George's County, Maryland. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 117 flash flood events and 103 general flood events, compared to just 4 tropical storm events. Recent events illustrate this pattern: on July 9, 2025, an anomalously moist airmass produced rain rates approaching five to six inches an hour that resulted in widespread flooding and flash flooding. Later that month, on July 31, 2025, slow-moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall dropped localized amounts up to six inches, causing scattered to numerous instances of flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that residents in both designated high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas experience significant impacts. Zone X accounts for 474 claims with an average payout of $9,736 and an average recorded water depth of 30 inches. Zone A accounts for 394 claims with an average payout of $15,567 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 246 claims averaging $7,609 with an average water depth of 5 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 23 claims averaging $13,553 with an average water depth of 27 inches. Zone D recorded 13 claims averaging $4,675 with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in both Zone A and Zone X, where high claim frequencies and significant average water depths demonstrate that severe flooding occurs outside of traditionally mapped high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
40% of Prince George's County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
668 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 15 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 2020, with 163 claims and $2.1M paid.
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.
49 NOAA storm reports from Prince George's County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
19 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 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 6, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
224 since 1996: 117 flash floods and 103 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 28, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Sep 9, 2023 | — |
— = 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 · 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 13, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed early in the afternoon in an anomalously moist airmass along the Chesapeake Bay Breeze and remnant outflow boundaries. These storms remained nearly stationary through the first part of the afternoon producing a quick two to four inches of rain before dissipating.
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 Prince George's 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.