PlainHazard

Coastal Flood

NOAA Storm Events type · 4,647 records since 1996 · 37 states and territories

The National Weather Service defines coastal flood as: "Flooding of coastal areas due to the vertical rise above normal water level caused by strong, persistent onshore wind, high astronomical tide, and/or low atmospheric pressure, resulting in damage, erosion, flooding, fatalities, or injuries." NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 4,647 coastal flood records from 1996 through June 30, 2026, the most in New Jersey (888), with 60 deaths recorded.

How the National Weather Service files coastal flood

Flooding of coastal areas due to the vertical rise above normal water level caused by strong, persistent onshore wind, high astronomical tide, and/or low atmospheric pressure, resulting in damage, erosion, flooding, fatalities, or injuries. Coastal areas are defined as those portions of coastal land zones (coastal county/parish) adjacent to the waters, bays, and estuaries of the oceans.
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 4

Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).

Coastal Flood, 1996 to 2026

Records per year (2026 to June 30, 2026).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $10 million
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
4,6471996 to June 30, 2026
Deaths
6018 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$21.8Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Counties with a record
362of 3,266

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026. Search the record at NCEI.

Where do coastal flood records happen?

States

  1. New Jersey 888
  2. Virginia 378
  3. Florida 370
  4. New York 366
  5. South Carolina 359
  6. Maryland 339
  7. Massachusetts 274
  8. Maine 227
  9. Delaware 193
  10. North Carolina 128
  11. California 120
  12. Texas 112
  13. Pennsylvania 107
  14. Alaska 107
  15. Puerto Rico 101

Counties

  1. Charleston County, SC 284
  2. Monmouth County, NJ 172
  3. Cape May County, NJ 147
  4. Ocean County, NJ 140
  5. Sussex County, DE 139
  6. Atlantic County, NJ 128
  7. Suffolk County, NY 111
  8. Nassau County, NY 96
  9. St. Mary's County, MD 82
  10. Miami-Dade County, FL 80

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

When do coastal flood records happen?

The busiest month is October.

The values, month by month

Jan 526 · Feb 236 · Mar 344 · Apr 319 · May 194 · Jun 242 · Jul 46 · Aug 157 · Sep 528 · Oct 1,099 · Nov 487 · Dec 469 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

The deadliest coastal flood records

The coastal flood records with the most deaths
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2012-10-29 Coastal FloodRichmond County, NY · forecast zone Richmond (Staten Is.) Widespread record coastal flooding occurred in Lower New York Harbor exceeding the FEMA 100 year base flood elevations. Peak storm tides surpassed all previously documented high water marks, including the October 31, 1991 and December 11, 1992 nor'easters and the recorded peaks from Hurricane Irene in 2011 and ... 23 0 –
2012-10-29 Coastal FloodQueens County, NY · forecast zone Southern Queens Coastal communities along Southern Queens experienced two successive tidal cycles with at least moderate coastal flooding. The peak of this surge occurred Monday Night as Sandy made landfall in Southern New Jersey, with widespread record coastal flooding occurring along Jamaica Bay exceeding the FEMA 100 year base ... 7 0 –
2012-10-29 Coastal FloodKings County and Queens County, NY · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) Coastal communities along Southern Brooklyn experienced two successive tidal cycles with at least moderate coastal flooding. The peak of this surge occurred Monday Night as Sandy made landfall in Southern New Jersey, with widespread record coastal flooding occurring along New York Harbor and Jamaica Bay exceeding the ... 5 0 –
1996-11-17 Coastal FloodArecibo, Aguada Municipio, PR Civil Defense reported that in Arecibo, one person was confirmed dead, and one missing. Two men in a 27 footer vessel went out to sea. 15 foot swells came up suddenly and broke the boat in two pieces. One drowned body recovered, the other was missing, presumably drowned. 2 0 $56K
2012-10-29 Coastal FloodBronx County, NY · forecast zone New York (Manhattan) Southern, Eastern and Western portions of Manhattan experienced two successive tidal cycles with at least moderate coastal flooding. The peak of this surge occurred Monday Night as Sandy made landfall in Southern New Jersey, with widespread record coastal flooding occurring in Lower New York Harbor exceeding the FEMA ... 2 0 –
2012-10-29 Coastal FloodOcean County, NJ · forecast zone Western Ocean Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster by far in the state of New Jersey. Record breaking high tides and wave action combined with sustained winds as high as 60 to 70 mph with wind gusts as high as around 90 mph to batter the state. Statewide, Sandy caused an estimated 29.4 billion dollars in ... 2 0 $3.2B
2012-10-29 Coastal FloodAtlantic County, NJ · forecast zone Eastern Atlantic Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster by far in the state of New Jersey. Record breaking high tides and wave action combined with sustained winds as high as 60 to 70 mph with wind gusts as high as around 90 mph to batter the state. Statewide, Sandy caused an estimated 29.4 billion dollars in ... 2 0 $193M
2008-08-01 Coastal FloodNorth Slope Borough, AK · forecast zone Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast Event continued from July. A 980 mb low pressure center moved counter-clockwise across the southern Beaufort Sea during 29th through Aug 1st, bringing several periods of west winds 30 to 50 mph across the Arctic Coast of Alaska. This caused a combination of high surf and elevated ocean water levels which destroyed the ... 2 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, deaths direct and indirect as filed.

The most recent coastal flood records

To June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodSussex County, DE · forecast zone Inland Sussex 0 0 –
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodSussex County, DE · forecast zone Delaware Beaches 0 0 –
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodCape May County, NJ · forecast zone Western Cape May 0 0 –
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodCape May County, NJ · forecast zone Eastern Cape May 0 0 –
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodBurlington County, NJ · forecast zone Southeastern Burlington 0 0 –
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodMonmouth County, NJ · forecast zone Western Monmouth 0 0 –
2026-02-23 Coastal FloodMonmouth County, NJ · forecast zone Eastern Monmouth 0 0 –
2026-02-10 Coastal FloodCanóvanas Municipio and 7 more, PR · forecast zone Northeast 0 0 $83K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

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