After rain fell within hours in Oxford, Connecticut last August, Randy Marxio entered her house and grabbed her 3-year-old son, teddy bear.
“I didn’t know the whole house was going, but I knew it wasn’t safe to stay in the evening. My son wanted a teddy bear,” says Marxio, a nurse and single mother in the emergency room. The next morning, the flood cleaned the Oxford home from the base and took all her possessions.
The flooding in the town of Marxio caused two deaths and millions of dollars in damage, and was just one of more than a dozen devastating floods in the United States last year. The worst flooding was caused by Hurricane Helen, who dumped nearly 31 inches of rain in some communities in Blue Ridge Mountain in September. According to the National Center for Environmental Information, it was the most expensive natural disaster of the year, causing $79.6 billion in damage.
Other 2024 catastrophes included several Midwest June devastating floods, July floods that sunk several towns in Vermont, and January flash floods in San Diego.
Most 2024 flood disasters were characterized by extreme rain, but in some cases, months’ rainfall decreased in hours, sinking inland areas that are not normally considered to be at risk of flooding. As happened in Connecticut, at least a month’s worth of rain is defined as 24 hours of rain, but it becomes part of a storm with names like a hurricane or anonymous cloudburst.
Flood risk in Spring 2025
According to the NOAA forecast for March 20th, the risk of spring flooding caused by melting snow during the April-June period is low this year. This is because there was less than normal snow falling during the winter. But rain is a wild card.
“Torrential rains can lead to flooding at any time, even in areas where overall risk is considered low,” the report said. “The intensity and location of rainfall can only be predicted accurately on future days. Therefore, flood risk can change rapidly.”
So far, West Virginia’s downpour has caused widespread flooding in February, with last week’s heavy rains causing devastating and fatal flooding in several Midwest and southern states. According to the National Weather Service, there has been more than 15 inches of rain in some areas.
Scientists with the US Global Change Research Program say these heavy downpours are increasing nationwide, with the largest increases in the Midwest and Northeast. When rain falls at a faster pace than the ground can absorb, flooding is seen.
“These storms have historically carried far more moisture than ever,” says Donald Hornstein, director of the Centre for Climate, Energy, Environment and Economics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “And they stall on top of the place, dumping a ton of rain, exceeding what the Earth can absorb.”
Extreme rain increases the risk of flooding
The reason for the increased extreme rain is a warming planet that overcharges the water cycle due to evaporation and produces more precipitation. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, last year was the warmest record on the planet, breaking previous records from 2023.
“As the atmosphere warms, there is more rain and more water available to the rain. This contributes to changing weather patterns and flood risk,” reports First Street, a climate risk data provider. “Extreme rain events have increased in terms of duration, intensity and frequency that causes urban areas, flash floods and flash floods, causing flooding by overflowing rivers and streams.”
In Connecticut floods that destroyed Marxio’s home, the rain that began Sunday afternoon dumped around 15 inches of water in the town of Oxford within 24 hours.
Only 4% of our homeowners have flood insurance
No one can control the weather or floods that may occur, but you can prepare financially by taking out flood insurance to cover both your home and its contents. This is another insurance policy that is not included in standard home insurance.
If your home is in a federally designated high-risk flood zone, most mortgage terms require flood insurance. But flooding can occur everywhere, Hornstein says.
Approximately 40% of US floods occur in areas not classified as flood zones, he says. However, only about 4% of U.S. homeowners have flood insurance, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Marxio home in Oxford was not in the designated flood area, so I didn’t get flood insurance when I bought it two years ago. After her house was destroyed, a friend set up a GoFundMe, which raised over $200,000.
How to get flood insurance
Most flood insurance for sale in the US is part of the Federal Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The policy is supported by the federal government but is issued through private insurance companies.
If you are selling a flood policy, consumers can search for providers by state by asking the insurance company they use for their primary home insurance or by visiting the federal government’s Floodsmart.gov website.
Although it may offer higher coverage restrictions than NFIP policies, the market for private flood insurance, which is often offered at a higher price than federally supported coverage, is small.
The private market may be a better option for luxury homes to replace. The maximum payout for NFIP is $250,000 to repair or replace the structure and $100,000 for the contents of the home.
The national average annual cost of flood insurance from NFIP was $870 in 2024, an increase of 8.8% from 2023.
“Because of climate change, there are no more safe ports due to flooding,” says Hornstein. “It’s not something that only people living in flood zones have to think about.”
