59 flood insurance claims·$377,137 paid·1 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 De Witt 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 DeWitt County, accounting for 18 of the last 30 years of recorded events compared to only 2 general flood events in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Historical events illustrate this local hazard. On July 28, 2016, an isolated slow-moving thunderstorm dropped over two inches of rain in 30 minutes in Farmer City, flooding a street and rendering it impassible. Earlier, heavy rainfall on April 30, 2019, led to areal flooding on May 1 as overflowing creeks and water from farm fields closed numerous roads across central Illinois communities, including DeWitt County.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 25 claims averaging a $12,075 payout and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. An equal number of claims, 25, occurred in Zone UNKNOWN with an average payout of $3,966 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $7,663 and an average depth of 26 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $7,472 and an average depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X, where claims recorded significant average water depths, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of De Witt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
28 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 11 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 1979, with 22 claims and $68,860 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 De Witt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 29, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Illinois Winter Snow Storms | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 9, 1994 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 30, 1979 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2014 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 20, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2010 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2025. An area of low pressure tracked from southeastern Nebraska during the morning of April 2nd to western Wisconsin by evening, triggering two rounds of convection across central Illinois.||Round 1 occurred during the morning when a line of thunderstorms along the trailing cold front pushed into the Illinois River Valley. These storms were generally sub-severe, but one cell produced a downburst with estimated winds i…
Flood · May 1, 2019. Heavy rainfall on April 30th led to areal flooding of many central Illinois communities from Morgan County northeastward to DeWitt County on May 1st. Overflowing creeks and water flowing out of farm fields caused the closure of numerous roads. IL-78 just south of the Jacksonville Airport in Morgan County was closed for a time, as were several county roads in Menard and Logan counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 28, 2016. An isolated slow-moving thunderstorm dropped over 2 inches of rain in just 30 minutes in the town of Farmer City in DeWitt County. As a result of the heavy rain, a street in town became flooded and impassible.
Flash Flood · May 29, 2014. A nearly stationary front draped across central Illinois provided the focus for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. The strongest storms produced heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding in eastern DeWitt County.
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 De Witt 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.