Flood zones, flood insurance and FEMA help, in plain English

New Castle County flood history

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

1,575NFIP flood claims since 1978
$51.7 millionPaid on those claims
$58,166Average paid claimlast 10 years
0.9%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
$1,160Typical yearly NFIP costsingle-family home
1Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 1,575 flood insurance claims in New Castle County, Delaware since 1978. The NFIP paid $51.7 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 263.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 220 claims, and the average paid claim was $58,166.

31% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 0.9% of homes in New Castle County, Delaware had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (1,599 of 181,854 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 45% (893 of 2,006).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 1 flood-related disaster declaration covering New Castle County, Delaware. The most recent was DR-1572-DE (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding From the Remnants of), declared November 15, 2004.

NFIP claims by year

NFIP flood claims per year in New Castle County, Delaware01252503755001978: 24 claims, $105,771 paid1979: 22 claims, $76,335 paid1980: 21 claims, $176,705 paid19801981: 3 claims, $1,252 paid1982: 3 claims, $1,001 paid1983: 14 claims, $30,650 paid1984: 12 claims, $6,904 paid1985: 12 claims, $49,179 paid1986: 3 claims, $1,643 paid1988: 3 claims, $0 paid1989: 91 claims, $1.0 million paid1990: 1 claims, $668 paid19901991: 3 claims, $14,666 paid1992: 19 claims, $90,383 paid1993: 3 claims, $48,068 paid1994: 17 claims, $255,946 paid1995: 1 claims, $0 paid1996: 18 claims, $358,747 paid1997: 2 claims, $0 paid1998: 9 claims, $39,627 paid1999: 217 claims, $7.2 million paid2000: 22 claims, $444,989 paid20002001: 4 claims, $16,482 paid2002: 3 claims, $1,663 paid2003: 263 claims, $18.1 million paid2004: 135 claims, $6.3 million paid2005: 6 claims, $20,646 paid2006: 20 claims, $411,814 paid2007: 16 claims, $83,688 paid2008: 18 claims, $113,017 paid2009: 8 claims, $9,979 paid2010: 44 claims, $1.1 million paid20102011: 169 claims, $3.9 million paid2012: 65 claims, $814,321 paid2013: 24 claims, $185,485 paid2014: 45 claims, $657,678 paid2015: 6 claims, $8,149 paid2016: 9 claims, $3,572 paid2017: 6 claims, $42,896 paid2018: 11 claims, $161,465 paid2019: 2 claims, $112 paid2020: 56 claims, $1.3 million paid20202021: 106 claims, $8.0 million paid2022: 6 claims, $0 paid2023: 10 claims, $73,147 paid2024: 11 claims, $344,511 paid2025: 8 claims, $19,603 paid2026: 4 claims, $9,267 paid
Claims per year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for details.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
20264$9,267
20258$19,603
202411$344,511
202310$73,147
20226$0
2021106$8.0 million
202056$1.3 million
20192$112
201811$161,465
20176$42,896
20169$3,572
20156$8,149
201445$657,678
201324$185,485
201265$814,321
2011169$3.9 million
201044$1.1 million
20098$9,979
200818$113,017
200716$83,688
200620$411,814
20056$20,646
2004135$6.3 million
2003263$18.1 million
20023$1,663
20014$16,482
200022$444,989
1999217$7.2 million
19989$39,627
19972$0
199618$358,747
19951$0
199417$255,946
19933$48,068
199219$90,383
19913$14,666
19901$668
198991$1.0 million
19883$0
19863$1,643
198512$49,179
198412$6,904
198314$30,650
19823$1,001
19813$1,252
198021$176,705
197922$76,335
197824$105,771

Named flood events

EventYearClaimsPaid
Hurricane Ida202190$7.8 million
Hurricane Floyd1999210$7.1 million
Hurricane Irene2011144$3.5 million
Hurricane Isabel200335$1.2 million
Mid-spring storms201434$638,145
Hurricane Sandy201248$635,865
Flooding198019$175,186
Hurricane Debby20241$146,241

How many homes have flood insurance

FEMA counts 1,599 residential NFIP policies in New Castle County, against 181,854 residential buildings (0.9%). Of the 2,006 residential buildings in high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), 893 have an NFIP policy (45%). 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?

What flood insurance costs in New Castle County

On June 30, 2026, 2,576 NFIP flood insurance policies were in force in New Castle County, Delaware. For the 1,460 single-family homes among them, the typical (median) yearly cost was about $1,160; the average was $1,370.

Rated flood zonePoliciesTypical yearly cost, single-family homeAverage costAverage building coverage
High-risk zones (A and V)1,754$1,410$1,780$204,000
Moderate- and low-risk zones (B, C and X)822$860$910$235,000

Cost here is what FEMA's data lists as the policy cost: the premium plus the reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge. It covers single-family homes only (not condos, apartments or businesses), with costs rounded to the nearest $10 and shown only where at least 20 homes back the figure. Your own price depends on your building and the coverage you choose; see how flood insurance is priced. Private flood insurance isn't included.

Flood-related disaster declarations

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-1572-DE Nov 15, 2004 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding From the Remnants of 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 Delaware.

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.