26 flood insurance claims·$483,076 paid·2 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 Crawford 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 in Crawford County, Illinois, accounting for 43 of the 55 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 3 related deaths. Slow-moving thunderstorm clusters capable of producing rainfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour have repeatedly triggered these conditions, as demonstrated by events in July 2022, August 2022, and July 2025.
Federal insurance claims data reflects this localized vulnerability across different designated flood zones. Properties located in high-risk Zone A have logged 16 National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $25,897 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X and Unshaded Zone X have accounted for 10 combined claims with average payouts of approximately $9,419 to $9,506, and average recorded water depths ranging from 0 to 11 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated within designated Zone A, where historical claims show the highest frequency, financial payout averages, and water depths. However, properties in Zone X and Unshaded Zone X also warrant attention due to documented claims history.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Crawford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 12 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 2008, with 11 claims and $346,801 paid, the year of Severe Storms and 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.
23 NOAA storm reports from Crawford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1985, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 1996 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Feb 23, 1985 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
55 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 9, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2025. Clusters of slow-moving thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary across southeast Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening of July 27th. The storms were primarily focused south of the I-70 corridor where rainfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour led to isolated flash flooding in Crawford County.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2022. A cluster of thunderstorms developed in the evening near the I-70 corridor ahead of a slow moving cold front. These thunderstorms produced heavy rain and isolated flash flooding across southeast Illinois, with some locations observing rainfall rates that exceeded 2 inches per hour. An additional cluster of thunderstorms moved across the same areas early on the morning of August 9th, producing more flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2022. A cluster of slow-moving thunderstorms developed along a cold front during the evening, producing isolated wind damage and flash flooding south of I-70.
Flash Flood · Aug 1, 2022. An outflow boundary from convection earlier in the day served as the primary focusing mechanism for numerous storm clusters along and south of I-70 from the late afternoon of August 1st into the pre-dawn hours of August 2nd. Some of the storms dropped very large hail up to 2 inches in diameter. In addition, continuous back-building cells produced a swath of heavy rainfall in excess of 8 inches from eastern Effi…
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 Crawford 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.