Flood Help Guide

Ocean County flood history

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

52,884NFIP flood claims since 1978
$2.6 billionPaid on those claims
$17,432Average paid claimlast 10 years
16.6%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
2Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 52,884 flood insurance claims in Ocean County, New Jersey since 1978. The NFIP paid $2.6 billion on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2012, with 37,797, mostly from Hurricane Sandy.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 568 claims, and the average paid claim was $17,432.

4% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 16.6% of homes in Ocean County, New Jersey had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (35,624 of 214,768 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 71% (33,329 of 47,067).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 2 flood-related disaster declarations covering Ocean County, New Jersey. The most recent was DR-1897-NJ (Severe Storms and Flooding), declared April 2, 2010.

NFIP claims by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Ocean County, New Jersey012.5k25k37.5k50k1978: 100 claims, $228,882 paid1979: 140 claims, $105,097 paid1980: 131 claims, $235,878 paid19801981: 14 claims, $1,479 paid1982: 39 claims, $69,983 paid1983: 32 claims, $21,375 paid1984: 962 claims, $2.8 million paid1985: 413 claims, $793,475 paid1986: 31 claims, $16,905 paid1987: 99 claims, $95,954 paid1988: 8 claims, $3,093 paid1989: 77 claims, $85,232 paid1990: 17 claims, $2,032 paid19901991: 887 claims, $3.1 million paid1992: 6,929 claims, $66.8 million paid1993: 285 claims, $707,594 paid1994: 97 claims, $353,678 paid1995: 80 claims, $260,035 paid1996: 155 claims, $684,234 paid1997: 316 claims, $1.8 million paid1998: 387 claims, $1.2 million paid1999: 102 claims, $142,817 paid2000: 124 claims, $696,827 paid20002001: 53 claims, $193,909 paid2002: 54 claims, $189,876 paid2003: 113 claims, $411,041 paid2004: 29 claims, $137,107 paid2005: 380 claims, $5.5 million paid2006: 407 claims, $4.3 million paid2007: 70 claims, $200,578 paid2008: 59 claims, $396,680 paid2009: 161 claims, $1.4 million paid2010: 306 claims, $1.8 million paid20102011: 1,156 claims, $18.4 million paid2012: 37,797 claims, $2.5 billion paid2013: 64 claims, $309,929 paid2014: 144 claims, $972,651 paid2015: 27 claims, $42,794 paid2016: 71 claims, $751,557 paid2017: 54 claims, $518,506 paid2018: 63 claims, $561,786 paid2019: 38 claims, $191,284 paid2020: 29 claims, $78,918 paid20202021: 113 claims, $677,954 paid2022: 68 claims, $472,907 paid2023: 32 claims, $218,653 paid2024: 87 claims, $840,712 paid2025: 71 claims, $1.5 million paid2026: 13 claims, $40,656 paid
Claims per year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for details.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
202613$40,656
202571$1.5 million
202487$840,712
202332$218,653
202268$472,907
2021113$677,954
202029$78,918
201938$191,284
201863$561,786
201754$518,506
201671$751,557
201527$42,794
2014144$972,651
201364$309,929
201237,797$2.5 billion
20111,156$18.4 million
2010306$1.8 million
2009161$1.4 million
200859$396,680
200770$200,578
2006407$4.3 million
2005380$5.5 million
200429$137,107
2003113$411,041
200254$189,876
200153$193,909
2000124$696,827
1999102$142,817
1998387$1.2 million
1997316$1.8 million
1996155$684,234
199580$260,035
199497$353,678
1993285$707,594
19926,929$66.8 million
1991887$3.1 million
199017$2,032
198977$85,232
19888$3,093
198799$95,954
198631$16,905
1985413$793,475
1984962$2.8 million
198332$21,375
198239$69,983
198114$1,479
1980131$235,878
1979140$105,097
1978100$228,882

Named flood events

EventYearClaimsPaid
Hurricane Sandy201237,459$2.5 billion
December Storm - Nor'easter19926,757$66.4 million
Hurricane Irene20111,080$18.0 million
The "Halloween" Storm1991673$2.7 million
Flooding1984935$2.7 million
March 2010 Nor'easter2010251$1.7 million
Flooding1997255$1.7 million
Torrential rain2005153$1.6 million

How many homes have flood insurance

FEMA counts 35,624 residential NFIP policies in Ocean County, against 214,768 residential buildings (16.6%). Of the 47,067 residential buildings in high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), 33,329 have an NFIP policy (71%). 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-1897-NJ Apr 2, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1867-NJ Dec 22, 2009 Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida and A Nor'Eas 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 New Jersey.

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.