677 flood insurance claims·$13.8M 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 Talbot 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 weather events dominates the flood history of Talbot County, Maryland, backed by 23 recorded flash flood events out of 41 total flood events in the last 30 years. Coastal flooding is the second most frequent hazard with 9 events, alongside tropical storms and general floods. Recent impacts include an October 2025 low-pressure system that pushed water up the Chesapeake Bay to cause moderate tidal flooding around the Eastern Shore, and an August 2022 thunderstorm event that dropped 1.5 to 3.0 inches of rain, triggering flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones, led by Zone A with 501 claims averaging an 8-inch recorded water depth and a $28,569 payout. Properties in Zone X recorded 68 claims with an average water depth of 16 inches and a $14,791 payout, while Shaded Zone X recorded 37 claims with an average water depth of 15 inches and a $15,131 payout. Unshaded Zone X properties recorded 27 claims with an average water depth of 14 inches and a $26,504 payout, and unknown zones logged 32 claims with an average depth of 2 inches and a $2,104 payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists focusing on coastal properties and low-lying areas should pay the closest attention to these flood risks, particularly given the combination of flash flood frequency and significant recorded water depths across both high-risk coastal zones and moderate-risk Zone X designations.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Talbot County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
577 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 2003, with 437 claims and $9.9M 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Talbot County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maryland flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 6 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 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Hurricane Isabel | Sep 18, 2003 |
| Snow | Feb 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 23 flash floods, 3 river or area floods and 11 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 30, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2022 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 29, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 12, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 30, 2025. An area of low pressure moving through Maryland resulted in southerly flow and a push of water up the Chesapeake Bay. This resulted in some moderate tidal flooding around the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
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.
Flash Flood · Aug 5, 2022. Thunderstorms brought locally heavy rain to Talbot County during the late afternoon and early evening of August 5. Rainfall totals were as high as 1.5 to 3.0 inches.
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.
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 Talbot 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.