805 flood insurance claims·$11.8M 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 Newport County, Rhode Island. 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 and heavy rainfall drive the primary flood hazards in Newport County, as reflected by 11 general flood events, 9 coastal flood events, and 7 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years.
Recent historic events illustrate these hazards. In December 2023, a strong Atlantic coast storm system brought strong southerly winds and coastal flooding that closed schools, flooded roads, and knocked out power across the region. Earlier, in September 2021, the remnant low of Tropical Depression Ida dropped heavy rainfall of 4.0 to more than 8.0 inches across Rhode Island, with a CoCoRAHS observer recording 8 inches in Portsmouth.
Property owners in FEMA flood zones should pay close attention to these risks, particularly those in Zone A with 438 total claims averaging $23,332 and 4 inches of recorded water depth, and Zone V with 163 claims averaging $33,140 and 13 inches of recorded water depth. Residents in Zone X designations also face exposure, including 100 claims in Zone X averaging $8,978 and 17 inches of recorded water depth, 63 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging $21,314 and 6 inches of water depth, and 29 claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging $6,795 and 2 inches of water depth.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Newport County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
693 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 7 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 222 claims and $2.3M 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Newport County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Rhode Island flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 9, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 28, 2022 |
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 20, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 26, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Tropical Storm Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 7 flash floods, 11 river or area floods and 10 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | $2,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 22, 2021 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2021 | $4,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2020 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 16, 2024. Low pressure south of southern New England brought widespread moderate to heavy rain to the region during the morning. The heaviest was centered in eastern CT, northern and |central RI into south coastal MA where a nearly stationary band of rain produced hourly rain rates of about a half-inch per hour. Some of the highest totals were 5.09 inches of rain in Westport, MA, 6.54 inches in South Kingstown, RI.
Coastal Flood · Dec 18, 2023. A strong storm system moved up the Atlantic coast Sunday night into Monday, merging with a short wave trough exiting the northern Great Plains and taking the surface low west of southern New England. This brought strong southerly winds and coastal flooding to southern New England. This was a very impactful storm flooding roads, closing schools, knocking out power to 300,000 across MA, cancelling flights, and killi…
Coastal Flood · Dec 23, 2022. Low pressure deepened rapidly as it tracked through the eastern Great Lakes.|The storm produced damaging southeast to south winds across much of southern New England and minor to moderate coastal flooding the east and south coasts. Two to 3.5 inches of rain fell across much of RI and interior MA.
Tropical Storm · Aug 22, 2021. Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in southwest Rhode Island around noon on August 22nd, then moved slowly northwestward and westward across northern Connecticut and weakened. Henri brought strong wind gusts and flash flooding. The strongest gusts -- to 70 mph -- occurred along the Rhode Island coast. The worst flash flooding occurred in northeast Connecticut. ||As the remnants of Henri moved eastward across sou…
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 Newport 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.