3,607 flood insurance claims·$55.3M paid·4 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 DuPage 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 and standard flooding from severe summer thunderstorms dominate DuPage County's risk profile, backed by 81 flood events causing 2 deaths and 63 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent historical events highlight this severe weather threat, including torrential rainfall and widespread flash flooding from thunderstorms in July 2025, as well as a series of thunderstorms in August 2025 that brought torrential rainfall and widespread flooding to the Chicago metro area, contributing to metro-wide flood damages estimated at around $288 million.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in Zone A should pay the most attention, accounting for the vast majority of claims with 2,249 filings averaging a payout of $23,427 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. However, properties in Zone X also face significant risk, recording 469 claims with an average payout of $20,491 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches, alongside 467 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED with an average payout of $11,554 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, 181 claims in Zone X_SHADED with an average payout of $16,183 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, and 237 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging $3,163 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
22% of DuPage County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
2,899 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 9 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 1987, with 651 claims and $6.5M 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.
49 NOAA storm reports from DuPage County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 4 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 | Jul 19, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 13, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Illinois Winter Snow Storms | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 17, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
144 since 1996: 63 flash floods and 81 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jul 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 24, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. Persistent moderate to heavy rain during the morning of the 31st resulted in a few instances of localized flooding, mainly around the interior Chicago metro area. Despite rain reports largely below 1.5, NWS Chicago recorded a 12 frost depth in Romeoville on the morning of the 31st, which made the area more susceptible to flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms moved across parts of northeast Illinois during the afternoon of July 27th producing very heavy rain and localized flash flooding in Elmhurst.
Flood · Jul 27, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms moved across parts of northeast Illinois during the afternoon of July 27th producing very heavy rain and localized flash flooding in Elmhurst.
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2025. Isolated thunderstorms produced funnel clouds across central Illinois during the late morning of July 25th. A narrow line of thunderstorms developed over southeast DuPage and central Cook Counties during the late morning of July 25th and continued into the early afternoon producing torrential rainfall and widespread flash flooding. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northern Illinois during the lat…
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 DuPage 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.