Massachusetts flood insurance and flood history
From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 35,375 flood insurance claims in Massachusetts since 1978. The NFIP paid $441.4 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 1991, with 7,192, mostly from The "Halloween" Storm.
In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 3,428 claims, and the average paid claim was $31,903.
24% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).
About 2.0% of homes in Massachusetts had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (36,939 of 1,819,669 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 50% (27,037 of 53,794).
Since 2000, FEMA has made 12 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Massachusetts. The most recent was DR-4780-MA (Severe Storms and Flooding), declared May 15, 2024.
Flood insurance claims in Massachusetts by year
Show as a table
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 27 | $67,432 |
| 2025 | 35 | $291,808 |
| 2024 | 305 | $7.3 million |
| 2023 | 311 | $6.4 million |
| 2022 | 161 | $4.2 million |
| 2021 | 228 | $4.4 million |
| 2020 | 73 | $493,889 |
| 2019 | 71 | $490,766 |
| 2018 | 2,047 | $56.3 million |
| 2017 | 170 | $1.2 million |
| 2016 | 69 | $1.2 million |
| 2015 | 465 | $10.2 million |
| 2014 | 236 | $2.0 million |
| 2013 | 822 | $18.7 million |
| 2012 | 272 | $3.3 million |
| 2011 | 507 | $7.9 million |
| 2010 | 2,555 | $33.9 million |
| 2009 | 128 | $833,367 |
| 2008 | 215 | $2.3 million |
| 2007 | 554 | $11.2 million |
| 2006 | 1,453 | $36.0 million |
| 2005 | 1,013 | $14.5 million |
| 2004 | 324 | $1.7 million |
| 2003 | 424 | $3.2 million |
| 2002 | 65 | $571,332 |
| 2001 | 1,079 | $6.5 million |
| 2000 | 89 | $232,741 |
| 1999 | 125 | $617,278 |
| 1998 | 650 | $5.0 million |
| 1997 | 187 | $1.2 million |
| 1996 | 1,304 | $8.6 million |
| 1995 | 65 | $599,766 |
| 1994 | 98 | $360,078 |
| 1993 | 261 | $2.0 million |
| 1992 | 2,204 | $18.4 million |
| 1991 | 7,192 | $126.1 million |
| 1990 | 204 | $1.3 million |
| 1989 | 58 | $212,117 |
| 1988 | 126 | $974,424 |
| 1987 | 1,729 | $7.2 million |
| 1986 | 78 | $44,543 |
| 1985 | 246 | $1.2 million |
| 1984 | 550 | $1.3 million |
| 1983 | 414 | $938,514 |
| 1982 | 884 | $2.4 million |
| 1981 | 199 | $380,322 |
| 1980 | 135 | $423,920 |
| 1979 | 2,154 | $5.9 million |
| 1978 | 2,814 | $20.8 million |
Biggest flood events by NFIP payments
The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Massachusetts, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.
| Event | Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| The "Halloween" Storm | 1991 | 4,263 | $81.9 million |
| Hurricane Bob | 1991 | 2,847 | $43.4 million |
| March 2010 Nor'easter | 2010 | 1,913 | $24.3 million |
| Flooding | 1978 | 2,333 | $19.8 million |
| December Storm - Nor'easter | 1992 | 2,132 | $17.8 million |
| April 2007 Nor'easter | 2007 | 441 | $9.4 million |
| Flooding | 1996 | 1,030 | $7.1 million |
| Flooding | 1987 | 1,528 | $6.5 million |
| Not a named storm | 1979 | 1,816 | $5.0 million |
| Hurricane Irene | 2011 | 253 | $4.6 million |
Flood history by county
Every Massachusetts county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.
| County | Claims | Paid | Insured | Flood declarations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth County | 10,959 | $153.2 million | 4.3% | 7 |
| Essex County | 5,456 | $94.1 million | 2.8% | 10 |
| Suffolk County | 4,369 | $29.0 million | 2.5% | 7 |
| Middlesex County | 3,752 | $36.4 million | 1.0% | 8 |
| Norfolk County | 3,262 | $25.9 million | 1.5% | 7 |
| Barnstable County | 3,184 | $43.0 million | 5.4% | 4 |
| Bristol County | 1,558 | $13.7 million | 1.9% | 8 |
| Worcester County | 765 | $12.6 million | 0.5% | 8 |
| Nantucket County | 602 | $17.6 million | 7.5% | 3 |
| Berkshire County | 388 | $3.1 million | 0.9% | 4 |
| Hampden County | 279 | $2.7 million | 0.4% | 4 |
| Hampshire County | 215 | $2.0 million | 0.8% | 4 |
| Dukes County | 160 | $1.7 million | 5.3% | 3 |
| Franklin County | 114 | $3.8 million | 0.7% | 4 |
Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Massachusetts
Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.
| Declaration | Declared | Event | Help for individuals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR-4780-MA | May 15, 2024 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Yes |
| DR-4372-MA | Jun 25, 2018 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | No |
| DR-4214-MA | Apr 13, 2015 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding | No |
| DR-4110-MA | Apr 19, 2013 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding | No |
| DR-1895-MA | Mar 29, 2010 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Yes |
| DR-1813-MA | Jan 5, 2009 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | No |
| DR-1701-MA | May 16, 2007 | Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding | No |
| DR-1642-MA | May 25, 2006 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Yes |
| DR-1614-MA | Nov 10, 2005 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Yes |
| EM-3264-MA | Oct 19, 2005 | Severe Storms and Flooding | No |
| DR-1512-MA | Apr 21, 2004 | Flooding | Yes |
| DR-1364-MA | Apr 10, 2001 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Yes |
What to do with this
A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.
Where these numbers come from
All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:
- NFIP Redacted Claims (v3) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP claims since 1978, downloaded 2026-10-08. Dollar amounts are what the NFIP paid, not adjusted for inflation. Claims filed under private flood insurance aren't included.
- NFIP Residential Penetration Rates (v1) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP residential policy contracts in force (as of August 3, 2026) divided by FEMA's count of residential buildings from the National Structure Inventory. FEMA notes that inventory is incomplete in some counties, which can inflate the rate. Private flood policies aren't counted.
- Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): disaster declarations, downloaded 2026-10-08. We count a declaration as flood-related when FEMA lists flooding (or a dam or levee break) as its incident type or a designated incident type, or the declaration's title mentions flooding.
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.