52,884 flood insurance claims·$2.4B paid·8 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 Ocean 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 from prolonged storms and high tides dominates Ocean County, New Jersey, accounting for the highest frequency of recorded flood events over the past 30 years alongside flash floods, standard floods, storm surges, and tropical systems.
Recent impacts are illustrated by events such as October 2025, when powerful coastal storms and low-pressure systems sat off the coast with strong onshore easterly flows, pushing water toward the shoreline and back bay communities over multiple high tide cycles and causing moderate to locally major tidal flooding.
Property owners in high-risk coastal areas should pay the most attention, particularly those in FEMA Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of the county's National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $53,165 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties in Zone V—where claims average $84,976 with an average recorded water depth of 9 inches—also face significant risk, as do properties in Zone X, which has recorded over a thousand claims with an average payout of $54,463 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Ocean County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
51,294 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 2012, with 37,797 claims and $2.3B 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.
67 NOAA storm reports from Ocean County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Jersey flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Jones Road Fire | Apr 22, 2025 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 26, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
313 since 1996: 74 flash floods, 49 river or area floods and 177 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 30, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 23, 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 · Oct 30, 2025. An area of low pressure moved over New Jersey, with onshore easterly flow pushing water towards the New Jersey coast and back bay communities. This resulted in Moderate Tidal Flooding along the northern NJ coast.
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.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. An approaching cold front sparked off showers and thunderstorms across the forecast area. Flash flooding resulted.
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 Ocean 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.