436 flood insurance claims·$14.6M paid·9 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 Monroe County, Pennsylvania. 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, accounting for 63 of the 85 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside 21 general floods and 1 tropical storm event resulting in a combined 3 deaths. Severe weather has repeatedly impacted the region, including an approaching cold front that sparked flash flooding on July 14, 2025, and thunderstorms that brought 3 to 6 inches of rainfall to the Pocono Region on July 14, 2023. Additionally, Post Tropical Cyclone Ida brought 5 to 10 inches of rain and significant flash flooding on September 1, 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A face the heaviest impacts, logging 267 claims with an average payout of $53,718 and an average recorded water depth of 23 inches. However, property owners outside of primary high-risk zones must also remain vigilant; Zone X properties recorded 122 claims with an average payout of $30,645 and an average water depth of 15 inches, while smaller numbers of claims were filed in unshaded and shaded X zones and unknown zones. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated special flood hazard areas and lower-risk zones should pay close attention to these historical water depths and claim histories.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Monroe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
284 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 21 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 2006, with 71 claims and $3.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides.
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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Monroe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jun 23, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 2, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
85 since 1996: 63 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 23, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. An approaching cold front sparked off showers and thunderstorms across the forecast area. Flash flooding resulted.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2023. Thunderstorms brought locally heavy rain to the Lehigh Valley and the Pocono Region of eastern Pennsylvania from the late afternoon into the evening of July 14. Rainfall totals were as high as 3 to around 6 inches.
Flash Flood · Aug 23, 2021. Heavy rain associated with weakening Hurricane Henri caused flash flooding in the Pennsylvania counties of Monroe and Northampton on the night of August 22. Rainfall totals were as high as 4 to 8 inches in the region.
Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2021. Heavy rain associated with weakening Hurricane Henri caused flash flooding in the Pennsylvania counties of Monroe and Northampton on the night of August 22. Rainfall totals were as high as 4 to 8 inches in the region.
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 Monroe 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.