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Flood facts from river gauges and insurance claims

Every fact here is computed from National Weather Service crest lists, NOAA tide gauges and FEMA's flood insurance claims.

  1. 01

    The flood insurance program has paid $89.3 billion on 2,657,408 claims since 1978. Claims by year

  2. 02

    2005 alone accounts for 19.9% of those dollars. 2005

  3. 03

    Louisiana, Florida and Texas hold 65% of the money paid. Claims by state

  4. 04

    Harris County, TX, has the most claims of any county, with 170,854. Harris County

  5. 05

    St. Bernard Parish, LA, has 524 claims per 1,000 residents, the highest rate among counties of 10,000 people or more. St. Bernard Parish

  6. 06

    The Weather Service lists 238,551 crests across 5,753 river gauges. What the stages mean

  7. 07

    East Cache Creek near Walters, OK, has 77 major crests listed, more than any other gauge. East Cache Creek near Walters

  8. 08

    2011 has the most gauges at major flood, with 409. 2011

  9. 09

    In one month, June 2008, 164 gauges in 11 states reached major flood. River record by year

  10. 10

    Berwick, Atchafalaya River, LA, logged 205 high-tide flood days in 2019, the most at any gauge in one year. High-tide flooding

  11. 11

    Texas has the most direct flash flood deaths since 1996, with 533. Deaths by state

Paid by year

Flood insurance paid by year, billions of dollars

Flood insurance paid by year, billions of dollars 1978: 0.1 billion dollars 1979: 0.5 billion dollars 1980: 0.2 billion dollars 1981: 0.1 billion dollars 1982: 0.2 billion dollars 1983: 0.4 billion dollars 1984: 0.2 billion dollars 1985: 0.3 billion dollars 1986: 0.1 billion dollars 1987: 0.1 billion dollars 1988: 0.1 billion dollars 1989: 0.7 billion dollars 1990: 0.2 billion dollars 1991: 0.4 billion dollars 1992: 0.7 billion dollars 1993: 0.6 billion dollars 1994: 0.4 billion dollars 1995: 1.3 billion dollars 1996: 0.8 billion dollars 1997: 0.5 billion dollars 1998: 0.9 billion dollars 1999: 0.8 billion dollars 2000: 0.3 billion dollars 2001: 1.3 billion dollars 2002: 0.4 billion dollars 2003: 0.8 billion dollars 2004: 2.2 billion dollars 2005: 17.8 billion dollars 17.8 2006: 0.6 billion dollars 2007: 0.6 billion dollars 2008: 3.5 billion dollars 2009: 0.8 billion dollars 2010: 0.8 billion dollars 2011: 2.4 billion dollars 2012: 9.7 billion dollars 2013: 0.5 billion dollars 2014: 0.4 billion dollars 2015: 1.0 billion dollars 2016: 4.5 billion dollars 2017: 10.6 billion dollars 2018: 1.6 billion dollars 2019: 1.5 billion dollars 2020: 0.9 billion dollars 2021: 2.0 billion dollars 2022: 5.3 billion dollars 2023: 1.0 billion dollars 2024: 8.8 billion dollars 2025: 0.6 billion dollars 1978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Largest flood insurance years
2005276,670$18 billion
2017145,017$11 billion
2012175,519$9.7 billion
2024102,018$8.8 billion
202260,138$5.3 billion
201685,363$4.5 billion
200896,327$3.5 billion
201195,826$2.4 billion
200475,339$2.2 billion
202146,617$2.0 billion
201842,508$1.6 billion
201935,080$1.5 billion
199579,309$1.3 billion
200154,245$1.3 billion
201534,514$1.0 billion

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).