Flood Help Guide

Rhode Island flood insurance and flood history

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

7,026NFIP flood claims since 1978
$139.5 millionPaid on those claims
$51,648Average paid claimlast 10 years
2.7%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
6Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 7,026 flood insurance claims in Rhode Island since 1978. The NFIP paid $139.5 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 2010, with 1,782, mostly from March 2010 Nor'easter.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 538 claims, and the average paid claim was $51,648.

26% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 2.7% of homes in Rhode Island had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (8,360 of 306,168 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 49% (5,486 of 11,194).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 6 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Rhode Island. The most recent was DR-4766-RI (Severe Storms and Flooding), declared March 20, 2024.

Flood insurance claims in Rhode Island by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Rhode Island, 1978 to 202605001k1.5k2k1978: 349 claims, $793,283 paid1979: 221 claims, $2.1 million paid1980: 54 claims, $131,214 paid19801981: 10 claims, $44,698 paid1982: 220 claims, $2.2 million paid1983: 161 claims, $1.1 million paid1984: 77 claims, $605,538 paid1985: 153 claims, $293,656 paid1986: 31 claims, $271,752 paid1987: 54 claims, $122,100 paid1988: 10 claims, $5,004 paid1989: 8 claims, $150 paid1990: 10 claims, $10,365 paid19901991: 726 claims, $6.6 million paid1992: 106 claims, $692,444 paid1993: 70 claims, $563,337 paid1994: 45 claims, $331,006 paid1995: 7 claims, $7,131 paid1996: 23 claims, $126,016 paid1997: 33 claims, $149,855 paid1998: 149 claims, $1.6 million paid1999: 39 claims, $500,626 paid2000: 15 claims, $167,289 paid20002001: 99 claims, $872,508 paid2002: 9 claims, $35,038 paid2003: 21 claims, $27,927 paid2004: 13 claims, $24,892 paid2005: 414 claims, $11.1 million paid2006: 63 claims, $1.6 million paid2007: 119 claims, $2.2 million paid2008: 55 claims, $871,976 paid2009: 34 claims, $194,932 paid2010: 1,782 claims, $43.8 million paid20102011: 103 claims, $2.2 million paid2012: 1,094 claims, $38.8 million paid2013: 40 claims, $472,954 paid2014: 43 claims, $143,059 paid2015: 25 claims, $34,881 paid2016: 3 claims, $4,661 paid2017: 8 claims, $34,996 paid2018: 55 claims, $527,959 paid2019: 10 claims, $10,755 paid2020: 16 claims, $122,741 paid20202021: 74 claims, $1.7 million paid2022: 58 claims, $2.1 million paid2023: 137 claims, $7.8 million paid2024: 166 claims, $5.6 million paid2025: 7 claims, $524,019 paid2026: 7 claims, $205,898 paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
20267$205,898
20257$524,019
2024166$5.6 million
2023137$7.8 million
202258$2.1 million
202174$1.7 million
202016$122,741
201910$10,755
201855$527,959
20178$34,996
20163$4,661
201525$34,881
201443$143,059
201340$472,954
20121,094$38.8 million
2011103$2.2 million
20101,782$43.8 million
200934$194,932
200855$871,976
2007119$2.2 million
200663$1.6 million
2005414$11.1 million
200413$24,892
200321$27,927
20029$35,038
200199$872,508
200015$167,289
199939$500,626
1998149$1.6 million
199733$149,855
199623$126,016
19957$7,131
199445$331,006
199370$563,337
1992106$692,444
1991726$6.6 million
199010$10,365
19898$150
198810$5,004
198754$122,100
198631$271,752
1985153$293,656
198477$605,538
1983161$1.1 million
1982220$2.2 million
198110$44,698
198054$131,214
1979221$2.1 million
1978349$793,283

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Rhode Island, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
March 2010 Nor'easter20101,716$43.3 million
Hurricane Sandy20121,067$38.6 million
Hurricane Bob1991626$6.3 million
December Nor'easter202378$5.0 million
Hurricane Irene201185$2.1 million
Not a named storm1982162$2.0 million
Not a named storm1979156$1.9 million
Hurricane Ida202165$1.6 million
Flooding200144$398,339
Hurricane Elsa20212$62,462

Flood history by county

Every Rhode Island county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredFlood declarations
Washington County2,399$51.9 million6.6%4
Providence County1,626$49.0 million0.5%5
Kent County1,300$21.5 million2.2%4
Bristol County830$4.9 million8.9%2
Newport County805$11.8 million4.9%4

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Rhode Island

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.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4766-RI Mar 20, 2024 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4765-RI Mar 20, 2024 Severe Storm and Flooding Yes
DR-4753-RI Jan 7, 2024 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes Yes
EM-3311-RI Mar 30, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1894-RI Mar 29, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1704-RI May 25, 2007 Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding No

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:

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.