1,558 flood insurance claims·$13.7M paid·7 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 Bristol County, Massachusetts. 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.
Bristol County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by riverine and inland flooding from heavy rainfall, led by 116 general flood events and 60 flash flood events over the last 30 years, alongside coastal flooding and tropical systems. Recent NOAA storm data illustrates these threats, including localized flash flooding in southeast Massachusetts caused by a trough of low pressure on September 25, 2025, and coastal flooding driven by strong southeast winds and heavy rain on January 13, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas. Properties in Zone A account for 868 claims with an average payout of $12,610 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone V properties account for 321 claims averaging $13,162 with an average water depth of 6 inches. Zone X properties record 140 claims averaging $13,402 with an average water depth of 7 inches, while unshaded Zone X records 101 claims averaging $10,168 with a 9-inch average water depth, and shaded Zone X records 72 claims averaging $23,957 with a 9-inch average water depth.
Coastal property owners, residents in high-risk zones A and V, and property owners in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas where average recorded water depths reach up to 9 inches should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Bristol County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,362 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 1991, with 491 claims and $5.2M paid, the year of Hurricane Bob.
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.
97 NOAA storm reports from Bristol County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Massachusetts flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Lee | Sep 15, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 11, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 28, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Mar 2, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Jan 26, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Tropical Storm Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
202 since 1996: 60 flash floods, 116 river or area floods and 15 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2025. A trough of low pressure brough some widely scattered heavy showers to RI and southeast MA which caused some localized flash flooding problems in MA and RI.
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 2025. A mid level shortwave and surface cold front brough a smattering of strong to severe storms to southern New England in the evening and early overnight hours. This resulted in scattered wind damage reports in northeast CT, northern RI, and central MA. It also resulted in some flash flooding in southeast MA.
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2025. A mid level shortwave and surface cold front brough a smattering of strong to severe storms to southern New England in the evening and early overnight hours. This resulted in scattered wind damage reports in northeast CT, northern RI, and central MA. It also resulted in some flash flooding in southeast MA.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2024. A cold pool aloft and surface front caused a round of strong to severe storms over all of southern New England. Hail from 1 to 2 inches fell in MA, RI, and CT while localized flash flooding was observed in southern RI and MA.
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 Bristol 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.