374 flood insurance claims·$13.3M paid·9 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Adams County, Illinois. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Adams County, Illinois, accounting for 25 out of 37 recorded flood events over the last thirty years, alongside 12 general flood events. Recent incidents documented by NOAA include flash flooding driven by a mesoscale convective complex on May 19, 2025, and widespread thunderstorms producing isolated flash flooding on July 1, 2023. Additional significant events occurred from June 30 to July 1, 2021, associated with a passing cold front.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims are heavily concentrated in Zone A, which accounts for 293 claims with an average payout of $46,291 and an average recorded water depth of 27 inches. Other zones show fewer claims, including 49 claims in Zone UNKNOWN with an average payout of $7,303 and an average water depth of 3 inches, 16 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED with an average payout of $20,116 and an average water depth of 6 inches, 11 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $5,114 and an average water depth of 1 inch, and 5 claims in Zone X_SHADED with an average payout of $71,986 and an average water depth of 15 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A should pay the closest attention to this flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Adams County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
314 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 24 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1993, with 92 claims and $3.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
4 NOAA storm reports from Adams County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 24, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 19, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 6, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 24, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 19, 2025. A mesoscale convective complex rolled through Illinois during the late evening of May 19th. Severe reports spanned from west-central Illinois through the Metro-East and into southern Illinois where a brief tornado touched down. Luckily no injuries or fatalities were reported.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2023. Widespread thunderstorms developed on the nose of a low-level jet. Much of the activity remained north of a stationary surface front. Some of the storms became severe with damaging winds. Also, isolated flash flooding was reported in Adams County.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2021. As a cold front moved through the region, several rounds of showers and storms moved across portions of northern Missouri into west central Illinois. There were a couple of reports of flash flooding during the evening of June 30th through the morning hours of July 1st.
Flash Flood · Oct 24, 2021. Numerous severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front across southeast Missouri during the evening hours of Sunday, October 24th, 2021. As the storms moved northeastward, they moved into a moist, energy-rich environment with substantial wind shear in the low and mid-levels. They quickly intensified, remaining somewhat isolated as they moved through southeast Missouri and into southwest Illinois.…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Adams County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.