2 flood insurance claims·$3,539 paid
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 Ford 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.
Flooding from summer thunderstorms and flash floods dominates Ford County, driven by heavy rainfall events recorded over the last three decades in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. On August 16, 2024, a line of thunderstorms produced localized flooding in Gibson City late during the night. Later, on June 29, 2025, a series of thunderstorms moved across northeastern and east-central Illinois, bringing heavy rainfall and damaging winds specifically to Ford and Lake Counties. Another system on June 18, 2025, produced widespread thunderstorms, torrential rainfall, and minor flooding during the afternoon and evening.
Homeowners and real estate agents handling properties in Zone X should pay attention to these weather patterns. FEMA records show that Zone X properties in the county have accounted for a small number of claims, with an average payout of $1,769 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5 NOAA storm reports from Ford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1990.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| 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 Ice Storm | Feb 14, 1990 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
36 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 29, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Oct 24, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Aug 12, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2021 | $12.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 29, 2025. A series of largely sub-severe thunderstorms moved across northeastern and east-central Illinois during the afternoon and evening of the 29th. A few storms were stronger than the rest producing damaging winds and heavy rainfall, namely in Ford and Lake Counties.
Flood · Jun 18, 2025. A large system of low pressure produced widespread thunderstorms which impacted northern Illinois on the 18th. The storms produced damaging winds and torrential rainfall leading to instances of minor flooding during the early afternoon with additional heavy rain continuing into the evening.
Flood · Aug 16, 2024. A line of mostly sub-severe thunderstorms produced several instances of damage to power lines around Streator as well as localized flooding in Gibson City late during the night of the 15th.
Flood · Feb 22, 2023. Freezing rain developed across portions of northern Illinois during the morning of February 22nd and continued into the early morning of February 23rd with the bulk of the freezing rain falling from mid afternoon through mid evening. Thousands of tree limbs and hundreds of power lines came down due to the weight of the ice and northeast winds gusting to 35 mph. Several trees also came down, including one in Arli…
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 Ford 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.