NHC HURDAT2 · OpenFEMA · NWS Storm Events
Hurricane Irene (2011)
Irene in the federal records: the 1,812 cities near its track, flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and NWS reports.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
Hurricane Irene (2011) passed within 75 miles of 1,812 cities on this site in 13 states, 225 of them while it was at hurricane strength. Its peak wind on the NHC track was 121 mph (Category 3); the track runs from August 21, 2011 to August 30, 2011. It is on this list for the 6th most flood insurance claims of any tropical system on record. The most cities within 75 miles were in New Jersey (455), New York (436), Connecticut (171) and Pennsylvania (137).
- Cities within 75 mi
- 1,812
- Peak wind
- 121 mph
- NFIP claims
- 52,493
- Deaths in NWS reports
- 43
225 at hurricane strength
Category 3
$1.32 billion
967 reports
The full track, landfalls and every city it passed →
Where it came closest
| City | Closest | Wind on the track | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morehead City, NC | 9 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Atlantic Beach, NC | 11 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Newport, NC | 17 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Emerald Isle, NC | 23 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Swansboro, NC | 29 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Hubert, NC | 34 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Maysville, NC | 37 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Midway Park, NC | 41 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Camp Lejeune, NC | 41 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Tarawa Terrace, NC | 44 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Sneads Ferry, NC | 45 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
| Jacksonville, NC | 47 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | August 27, 2011 |
The 12 cities with the strongest wind on the NHC best track at its closest point, of 1,812 within 75 miles. Wind on the track is not the wind felt in the city.
Flood insurance claims and federal declarations
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders filed 52,493 claims under its name and were paid $1.32 billion for buildings and contents, in the dollars of the time; that is the 6th most of the 104 tropical systems with claims under their name. New Jersey had 18,125 of them (35%), then New York with 14,744 and North Carolina with 9,337. Among the cities on this site, the most claims came from Freeport, NY: 1,226, paid $29.2 million. Claims data as of September 8, 2026. FEMA issued 15 major disaster declarations and 14 emergency declarations naming it, covering 546 designated areas in 15 states and territories; the first came on August 22, 2011.
| City | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Freeport, NY | 1,226 | $29.2 million |
| New Bern, NC | 978 | $13.8 million |
| Long Beach, NY | 851 | $12.4 million |
| Wayne, NJ | 806 | $44.5 million |
| Kill Devil Hills, NC | 745 | $4.5 million |
| Norfolk, VA | 739 | $11.4 million |
| Staten Island, NY | 700 | $4.4 million |
| Milford, CT | 697 | $20.8 million |
FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3 (claims whose flood event carries the storm's name, ZIP codes summed by city) and Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What the National Weather Service recorded
The National Weather Service logged 967 reports whose account names it, in 21 states: 291 tropical storm, 251 flood, 220 flash flood, 55 storm surge and 55 strong wind. They record 43 deaths and 25 injuries, and $3.23 billion in estimated property and crop damage.
August 28, 2011, Hopewell, New Jersey: flood, 2 killed, $75.0 million damage
NWS: “In Princeton, a 39-year-old emergency responder died from injuries sustained while investigating a submerged vehicle in flood waters. No one was in the vehicle.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports dated within the storm's track whose account names it. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses; some reports are unverified.
More notable storms
Why these storms and how each figure is counted: methodology.