Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy took the top spots in an Insurance Information Institute ranking of flooding events in the United States since 1978, based on payouts made through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The national program defines such flooding events as storms that produce at least 1,500 paid losses. The III’s ranking looks at flooding events that occurred between 1978 and December 2019.
Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that affected six states, struck Louisiana in August 2005, resulting in nearly $16.3 billion in payouts from the flood insurance program.
Superstorm Sandy, which reached the status of Category 2, affected 16 states from Maine to Virginia when it made landfall in October 2012. National Flood Insurance Program payouts that resulted from the storm totaled $7.8 billion.
The analysis is based on data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Hurricane Center.
The Atlantic hurricane seasons run from June through November.
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Top 10 Flood Events by National Flood Insurance Program Payouts
| Date | Event | Location | Number of paid losses | Amount paid ($ millions) | Average paid loss |
| Aug. 2005 | Hurricane Katrina | AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, TN | 167,805 | $16,294 | $97,100 |
| Oct. 2012 | Superstorm Sandy | CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV | 128,186 | $7,753 | $60,484 |
| Sep. 2008 | Hurricane Ike | AR, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, OH, PA, TX | 46,522 | $2,679 | $57,581 |
| Sep. 2004 | Hurricane Ivan | AL, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV | 28,264 | $1,608 | $56,897 |
| Aug. 2011 | Hurricane Irene | CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT | 44,147 | $1,330 | $30,126 |
| Jun. 2001 | Tropical Storm Allison | FL, LA, MS, NJ, PA, TX | 30,778 | $1,106 | $35,931 |
| May 1995 | Louisiana Flood | LA | 31,343 | $585 | $18,667 |
| Aug. 2012 | Tropical Storm Isaac | AL, FL, LA, MS | 11,966 | $543 | $45,408 |
| Sep. 2003 | Hurricane Isabel | DE, MD, NJ, NY, NC, PA, VA, WV | 19,868 | $493 | $24,833 |
| Sep. 2005 | Hurricane Rita | AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, TN, TX | 9,519 | $474 | $49,765 |
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