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Dauphin County, PA flood insurance claims history

5,248 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Dauphin County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $86.1M on them. The worst year was 2011 with 1,836 claims. Dauphin County ranks #3 of 67 in Pennsylvania by claim count.

At a glance

  • 21% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 31% of all claims trace to a single event — Tropical Storm Lee (2011), which paid $49.1M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 9 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 97% of the 67 Pennsylvania counties with any claims on file — and more than all 8 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 17110 has the most claims in the county (1,421, 27%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
5,248
1978–2026
Total paid
$86.1M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
83%
4,360 received a payment
Average payout
$20K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
215
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-08-27
data as of 2026-09-08

Look up your ZIP code

Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid — and which named floods those claims came from, which a county-wide list cannot tell you. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere. Have a street address? Run the printable flood check for it →

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 1,836 claims in 2011

Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Dauphin County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Tropical Storm Lee1,636$49.1M$30K2011
Flooding (FEMA general label)1,239$12.0M$10K1996
Tropical Storm Ivan920$14.2M$15K2004
Not a named storm135$295K$2K1979
Flooding (FEMA general label)53$107K$2K1984
Hurricane Irene52$1.5M$29K2011
Flooding (FEMA general label)45$61K$1K1987
Hurricane Ida31$275K$9K2021
Flooding (FEMA general label)4$2K$4431986
Torrential rain (FEMA general label)3$3K$8392005
Hurricane Floyd3$18K$6K1999
Hurricane Sandy3$0$02012

79% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Flood zones in Dauphin County: which ones the claims came from

Dauphin County is not in one flood zone. FEMA draws zones parcel by parcel, so one street can be Zone AE and the next Zone X — there is no single zone for a whole county. What the claim record can tell you is which zones buildings were actually rated in when they flooded, and what each zone has cost here.

High-risk A zones: 4,018 (77%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 1 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 1,068 (20%)Zone not recorded: 161 (3%)

The most common zone on Dauphin County claims is Zone A1–A30 — 2,228 of 5,087 claims with a zone on file (44%). 79% were in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area, where a federally backed mortgage makes flood insurance mandatory. Open any zone below for what it means and whether it requires insurance.

Flood zone at ratingClaimsSharePaidAvg / claim
Zone A1–A30 · high risk, insurance required2,22844%$39.8M$18K
Zone AE · high risk, insurance required1,34126%$27.3M$20K
Zone B · moderate / low risk49410%$4.9M$10K
Zone A · high risk, insurance required4208%$5.5M$13K
Zone X · moderate / low risk3577%$4.3M$12K
Zone C · moderate / low risk2174%$3.9M$18K
Zone AO · high risk, insurance required291%$195K$7K
Zone V · high risk, insurance required10%$9K$9K

The zone is the one used to rate the policy when the claim was paid, not today’s map — FEMA remaps areas, so a building rated AE in 1995 may sit in a different zone now. AHB and AOB are older AH / AO variants; A1–A30 and V1–V30 are numbered zones from pre-2000 maps. 161 Dauphin County claims have no zone recorded and are left out of the shares above. Not sure what the letters mean? Flood zones explained →

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Stream, river or lake overflow2,30744%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt2,10840%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)4649%
Other causes3226%
Not recorded301%
Alluvial fan overflow110%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Dauphin County

38 ZIP codes in Dauphin County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Dauphin County.

171101,421$13.9M27%312025
17057903$22.3M17%252021
17104623$13.5M12%192020
17111341$2.0M6%292026
17018299$4.5M6%152018
17034251$2.6M5%192021
17036208$7.9M4%152026
17113176$1.3M3%142022
17102148$2.5M3%122022
17112142$1.6M3%252022
17033141$6.5M3%212021
17101125$3.4M2%162018
1704896$769K2%122021
1706183$537K2%112011
1710362$514K1%212021
1710947$304K1%162021
1703245$482K1%112018
Not reported25$72K0%112011
1702020$297K0%72011
1701719$253K0%92018
1702214$215K0%82021
1710814$220K0%52011
1710514$105K0%92012
171007$17K0%32016
170974$53K0%32018
170283$5K0%22011
170782$151K0%22011
170232$6K0%22011
170112$37K0%21999
100002$8K0%11996
189172$15K0%21984
179381$7950%12011
170151$2K0%11982
179411$00%11996
170701$14K0%11996
170311$8220%11981
179781$2730%11996
170671$12K0%11996

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Dauphin County flood?

September accounts for the most flood losses (2,742 claims, 52%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January1,44828%
February1333%
March1693%
April1673%
May451%
June1373%
July1984%
August1433%
September2,74252%
October311%
November180%
December170%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20263$0
20251$0
20242$14K
20226$13K
202137$331K
20202$14K
20195$74K
2018116$2.2M
201743$342K
20163$11K
20152$0
20142$9K
201318$136K
20126$18K
20111,836$51.9M
201017$191K
20093$14K
200815$293K
20075$26K
2006100$2.1M
200515$39K
2004964$14.5M
200314$35K
20021$0
20005$504
199955$312K
199838$77K
19972$3K
19961,287$12.2M
19954$8K
199420$100K
199386$190K
19922$0
19918$10K
19901$0
19899$109K
198747$61K
198631$17K
19853$885
198470$116K
198317$12K
198228$29K
198138$79K
1979241$415K
197840$51K

Neighboring counties

Dauphin County borders 8 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Dauphin County (this page)5,248$86.1M21%
Lancaster County2,106$32.8M24%
York County1,753$20.7M38%
Northumberland County1,721$24.2M22%
Cumberland County1,600$16.9M36%
Schuylkill County1,041$26.3M16%
Lebanon County1,005$15.9M28%
Perry County749$7.4M25%
Juniata County178$1.1M26%

All 67 Pennsylvania counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Dauphin County

Has Dauphin County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-27, and claims were filed in 9 of the last 10 years (215 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-08, so the newest events may not appear yet.
What flood zone is Dauphin County in?
There is no single answer — zones are drawn parcel by parcel, so one street can be Zone AE and the next Zone X. Across 5,087 Dauphin County claims with a zone on file, the most common was Zone A1–A30 (44%), and 79% were in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. For one address, look it up on the free flood check or FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center; the zone breakdown above shows what each zone has cost here.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 21% of Dauphin County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 42043, data as of 2026-09-08). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.

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