1,260 flood insurance claims·$14.7M paid·5 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 Somerset 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.
Coastal flooding dominates the flood history of Somerset County, accounting for over forty percent of recorded flood events over the last thirty years alongside flash floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes. Recent occurrences include prolonged moderate coastal flooding on October 12, 2025, driven by strong northeast winds from a coastal low and high pressure system, and coastal flooding on October 18, 2025, caused by winds shifting behind a cold front that trapped water in the middle Chesapeake Bay.
Federal insurance data reflects this exposure, with the vast majority of National Flood Insurance Program claims occurring in high-risk coastal environments. Zone A has logged 1,183 claims with an average payout of $15,075 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone V properties face the highest severity when impacted, averaging $42,909 per claim across 12 claims with an average recorded water depth of 23 inches. Meanwhile, shaded and unshaded Zone X areas have recorded lower averages, including 32 claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging $10,531 with an average water depth of 3 inches, and 19 claims in Zone X averaging $10,127 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in high-risk coastal zones, particularly Zone A and Zone V, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Somerset County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,232 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 2012, with 689 claims and $10.2M paid, the year of Hurricane Sandy.
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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Somerset County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | Sep 16, 1999 |
| Blizzard Of 96 (severe Snow Storm) | Jan 6, 1996 |
| Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm | Mar 13, 1993 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
49 since 1996: 10 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 22 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Aug 22, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 18, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 20, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 15, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Mar 9, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Aug 22, 2025. Hurricane Erin passed well offshore and combined with high pressure to the north, resulting in a period of strong onshore winds and coastal flooding across the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
Coastal Flood · Oct 18, 2025. South and southwesterly winds developed ahead of a strong cold front. Winds became westerly behind the front, allowing water trapped in the middle Chesapeake Bay to flood portions of the Maryland Eastern Shore.
Coastal Flood · Oct 12, 2025. A coastal low formed off of the Southeast coast on October 11 and slowly tracked north into October 13 before moving offshore. Meanwhile, a strong 1035mb area of high pressure lingered over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. This resulted in a prolonged period of strong northeast to north winds across the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters, which allowed for widespread moderate coastal flooding across the lower Maryland E…
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 2025. A short wave trough aloft approached the Mid-Atlantic from the west on July 9. Strong thunderstorms formed during the afternoon and evening with gusty winds and heavy rainfall moving into the lower Maryland Eastern Shore in the evening hours.
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 Somerset 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.