20,909 flood insurance claims·$474.2M paid·10 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 Atlantic County, New Jersey. 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 character of Atlantic County, New Jersey, accounting for 128 events and 2 deaths over the last 30 years out of 253 total recorded flood events, alongside significant impacts from flash floods, general floods, storm surges, tropical storms, and hurricanes. Recent documented events include powerful coastal storms and storm surge from Hurricane Erin combined with a new moon in August and October 2025, which pushed water toward the shoreline and back bays, producing moderate to locally major high tide levels across multiple tide cycles.
Property owners and residents in FEMA Zone A should pay the most attention to these risks, as this zone accounts for the vast majority of historical National Flood Insurance Program claims in the county with 19,815 claims averaging a $27,100 payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Additional attention is required for properties in Zone V, Shaded Zone X, Zone X, and Unknown zones, which collectively account for thousands of additional claims with average payouts ranging from $5,091 to $29,583 and average recorded water depths between 2 and 6 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Atlantic County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
20,534 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 5 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 11,429 claims and $400.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds and 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.
58 NOAA storm reports from Atlantic County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Jersey flood stories →
36 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Severe Storm | Jun 23, 2015 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 30, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 26, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
253 since 1996: 40 flash floods, 39 river or area floods and 163 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 20, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 18, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 15, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2025. A stationary front sparked off showers and thunderstorms across the forecast area. Flash flooding resulted.
Coastal Flood · Aug 21, 2025. Storm surge from Hurricane Erin and an upcoming New Moon resulted in moderate to locally major high tide levels on the night of August 21, 2025 across coastal areas of New Jersey.
Coastal Flood · Oct 12, 2025. A powerful coastal storm sat off the New Jersey coast, with strong winds pushing water towards the shoreline and into the back bays of New Jersey. Moderate to locally major high tide levels were observed along the coast. Tidal flooding continued over multiple high tide cycles.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2025. Although low pressure and a cold front were moving east of the region, they were still close enough to cause heavy rain and flash flooding.
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 Atlantic 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.