279 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·4 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 Hampden 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.
River floods and flash floods driven by summer thunderstorms dominate the flood character of Hampden County, supported by NOAA data recording 90 floods, 39 flash floods, and 4 tropical storms over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are illustrated by slow-moving thunderstorms in July 2025 that brought heavy rain and scattered flash flooding, as well as a September 2023 event featuring scattered thunderstorms and widespread flash flooding that closed streets, stranded cars, and flooded basements and first floors.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 153 claims averaging a payout of $20,403 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties outside designated high-risk areas also experience impacts, including Zone X with 26 claims averaging a payout of $17,828 and an average recorded water depth of 28 inches, and Zone X unshaded with 31 claims averaging $11,127 with an average water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in high-risk Zone A, as well as those in Zone X and shaded or unshaded X zones where significant claims and water depths indicate vulnerability to intense rainfall and localized flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
28% of Hampden County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
215 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 12 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 1984, with 39 claims and $120,121 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.
59 NOAA storm reports from Hampden County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Massachusetts flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1985, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Lee | Sep 15, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storm | Oct 29, 2011 |
| Severe Storm And Snowstorm | Oct 29, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
133 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 90 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 14, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 15, 2023 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. Slow-moving thunderstorms brought heavy rain and scattered flash flooding to western interior southern New England.
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2025. After one rouge severe storm in northeast MA in the morning, a cold front brought a round of strong to severe storms through western and central Massachusetts during the afternoon and evening. These storms dropped quarter sized hail, produced damaging winds, and some flash flooding.
Flood · Jun 14, 2024. A potent shortwave trough and cold front dropped SE across the region in the afternoon bringing a round of strong to severe storms which produced wind damage in the Boston area.
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2023. A seasonably strong shortwave trough brought scattered severe storms to Massachusetts during the afternoon and evening. Persistent and redeveloping storms also lead to flooding issues.
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 Hampden 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.