Flood Help Guide

Baltimore County flood history

Maryland · From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

3,366NFIP flood claims since 1978
$70.3 millionPaid on those claims
$17,055Average paid claimlast 10 years
1.2%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
2Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 3,366 flood insurance claims in Baltimore County, Maryland since 1978. The NFIP paid $70.3 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2003, with 1,536, mostly from Hurricane Isabel.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 246 claims, and the average paid claim was $17,055.

27% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 1.2% of homes in Baltimore County, Maryland had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (3,097 of 259,538 residential buildings).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 2 flood-related disaster declarations covering Baltimore County, Maryland. The most recent was DR-4376-MD (Severe Storm and Flooding), declared July 2, 2018.

NFIP claims by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Baltimore County, Maryland05001k1.5k2k1978: 57 claims, $83,857 paid1979: 394 claims, $3.9 million paid1980: 5 claims, $13,967 paid19801981: 28 claims, $45,927 paid1982: 8 claims, $3,369 paid1983: 18 claims, $13,827 paid1984: 128 claims, $1.1 million paid1985: 122 claims, $326,624 paid1986: 4 claims, $7,172 paid1987: 2 claims, $19,751 paid1988: 3 claims, $19,520 paid1989: 46 claims, $863,663 paid1990: 4 claims, $14,538 paid19901991: 3 claims, $41,103 paid1992: 5 claims, $11,779 paid1993: 21 claims, $224,878 paid1994: 10 claims, $357,646 paid1996: 184 claims, $1.0 million paid1997: 2 claims, $0 paid1998: 12 claims, $13,984 paid1999: 54 claims, $435,776 paid2000: 2 claims, $0 paid20002001: 2 claims, $610 paid2002: 5 claims, $0 paid2003: 1,536 claims, $50.6 million paid2004: 32 claims, $1.0 million paid2005: 8 claims, $6,689 paid2006: 35 claims, $333,669 paid2007: 1 claims, $0 paid2008: 14 claims, $259,993 paid2009: 15 claims, $36,349 paid2010: 48 claims, $528,495 paid20102011: 147 claims, $3.1 million paid2012: 51 claims, $399,186 paid2013: 12 claims, $112,539 paid2014: 46 claims, $724,278 paid2015: 21 claims, $84,962 paid2016: 35 claims, $1.3 million paid2017: 4 claims, $9,665 paid2018: 54 claims, $485,944 paid2019: 7 claims, $16,440 paid2020: 15 claims, $58,353 paid20202021: 32 claims, $463,425 paid2022: 5 claims, $18,153 paid2023: 11 claims, $65,874 paid2024: 109 claims, $2.1 million paid2025: 7 claims, $15,476 paid2026: 2 claims, $0 paid
Claims per year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for details.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
20262$0
20257$15,476
2024109$2.1 million
202311$65,874
20225$18,153
202132$463,425
202015$58,353
20197$16,440
201854$485,944
20174$9,665
201635$1.3 million
201521$84,962
201446$724,278
201312$112,539
201251$399,186
2011147$3.1 million
201048$528,495
200915$36,349
200814$259,993
20071$0
200635$333,669
20058$6,689
200432$1.0 million
20031,536$50.6 million
20025$0
20012$610
20002$0
199954$435,776
199812$13,984
19972$0
1996184$1.0 million
199410$357,646
199321$224,878
19925$11,779
19913$41,103
19904$14,538
198946$863,663
19883$19,520
19872$19,751
19864$7,172
1985122$326,624
1984128$1.1 million
198318$13,827
19828$3,369
198128$45,927
19805$13,967
1979394$3.9 million
197857$83,857

Named flood events

EventYearClaimsPaid
Hurricane Isabel20031,471$50.1 million
Hurricane Fran1996134$654,777
Mid-spring storms201425$428,066
Hurricane Debby202428$276,324
Hurricane Sandy201230$90,377
Flooding19967$82,051
Hurricane Irene201132$72,598
Hurricane Gloria198521$42,876

How many homes have flood insurance

FEMA counts 3,097 residential NFIP policies in Baltimore County, against 259,538 residential buildings (1.2%). Private flood policies aren't in these counts.

Whether you're required to carry flood insurance depends on your flood zone and your mortgage. See do I need flood insurance?

Flood-related disaster declarations

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4376-MD Jul 2, 2018 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4038-MD Oct 5, 2011 Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee No

Check your own address

County numbers can't tell you about a single building. Look up your property on FEMA's flood map, then read what your flood zone means. More counties: all of Maryland.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.