Storms, floods and disasters in Ocean Acres
Ocean Acres isn’t graded for hazard risk: Ocean Acres is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1984.
What Ocean Acres faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Strong wind
Hurricanes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Ocean Acres flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ocean Acres, from FEMA’s records.
Ocean Acres isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Ocean County.The storms Ocean Acres remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Ocean County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ocean Acres itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19841 flood claims paidThe year of Coastal Storms and Flooding, declared for Ocean County
- 20061 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Ocean County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Ocean County, 2002–2025.
Old photos of Ocean Acres after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ocean Acres archive →Get ready for what Ocean Acres faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Ocean Acres
Does Ocean Acres flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Ocean Acres since 1984, $6K in all.
Is Ocean Acres in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Ocean County, 71% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 16.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ocean Acres?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ocean Acres’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ocean Acres.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ocean Acres’ residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.