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Delaware
The recorded hazard history of every county in Delaware: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.
Delaware has 4,711 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 3 counties, led by damaging wind: 241.8 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.
NCEI attributes 36 deaths and 773 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $162M. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are New Castle, Kent and Sussex.
FEMA lists 26 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Winter Storm (29 May 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 6,339 flood claims since 1978, $92M paid; 17,547 residential policies are in force.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.
Compared with the United States
| Measure | Delaware | US |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded events since 1950 | 4,711 | 1,977,440 |
| Events per 100 square miles | 241.8 | 56.0 |
| Events per 10,000 residents | 47.0 | 59.6 |
| Deaths recorded by NCEI | 36 | 26,435 |
| Property damage (NCEI estimates) | $162M | $575B |
| NFIP claims per 1,000 residents | 6.3 | 8.1 |
| Average paid NFIP claim | $19K | $43K |
| Residential flood policies in force | 17,547 | 3,139,862 |
Hazard mix
Events by decade
Counties by events per 100 square miles
| County | Events | Last 12 mo | Per 100 sq mi | Per 10k residents | Dominant | Tornadoes | Hail | Declarations | NFIP claims | NRI risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County | 1,543 | 50 | 361.9 | 27.0 | Wind | 28 | 73 | 17 | 1,575 | Relatively High |
| Kent County | 1,087 | 29 | 185.5 | 59.0 | Wind | 25 | 36 | 17 | 376 | Relatively Moderate |
| Sussex County | 840 | 20 | 89.7 | 33.9 | Wind | 28 | 48 | 20 | 4,307 | Relatively Moderate |
Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).
Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force
| County | Claims, last 10 years | Policies in force | Claims per 100 policies | Claims since 1978 | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County | 221 | 1,599 | 13.8 | 1,575 | $52M |
| Kent County | 38 | 822 | 4.6 | 376 | $3.6M |
| Sussex County | 182 | 15,126 | 1.2 | 4,307 | $36M |
Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.
Federal disaster declarations by year
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Hurricane | 10 |
| Snowstorm | 5 |
| Severe Storm | 4 |
| Biological | 2 |
| Flood | 2 |
| Winter Storm | 1 |
| Coastal Storm | 1 |
| Drought | 1 |
Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May 2026 | DR-4916 | Major disaster | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm | 2 |
| 24 Oct 2021 | DR-4627 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | 1 |
| 2 Oct 2020 | DR-4566 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Isaias | 2 |
| 5 Apr 2020 | DR-4526 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | 3 |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3449 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | 3 |
| 16 Mar 2016 | DR-4265 | Major disaster | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | 1 |
| 16 Nov 2012 | DR-4090 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | 3 |
| 29 Oct 2012 | EM-3357 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | 3 |
| 30 Sep 2011 | DR-4037 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | 2 |
| 28 Aug 2011 | EM-3336 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | 3 |
| 31 Mar 2010 | DR-1896 | Major disaster | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | 3 |
| 5 Jul 2006 | DR-1654 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding | 1 |
| 30 Sep 2005 | EM-3263 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 3 |
| 15 Nov 2004 | DR-1572 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding From The Remnants Of | 1 |
| 23 Sep 2003 | DR-1495 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Henri | 1 |
Flood insurance claims by year
6,339 claims, 4,735 paid, $92M in total; 485 repetitive-loss and 54 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Delaware with flood claims (49).
Year by year
Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1954
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- 1954
Questions and answers
Which Delaware counties have the most recorded tornadoes?
New Castle (28), Sussex (28) and Kent (25), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.
Which Delaware counties have the most flood insurance claims?
Sussex (4,307), New Castle (1,575) and Kent (376) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.
How many federal disaster declarations has Delaware had?
26 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.
How does Delaware compare with the national rate?
241.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 6.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.
Provenance
NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.