369 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·8 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 Fulton 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 profile of Fulton County, Illinois. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 50 flash flood events compared to 19 general flood events, which have resulted in two deaths. Recent activity includes a derecho on July 15 and July 16, 2024, that brought heavy rainfall, strong winds, and tornadoes across the region as part of a severe weather system affecting the Midwest.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that historical payouts and water depths vary significantly by zone. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims at 295, with an average payout of $7,754 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN recorded 59 claims with an average payout of $8,439 and an average water depth of 3 inches. Zone X recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $17,132 and an average water depth of 21 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $54,031 and an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, journalists, and real estate agents should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A, which receives the heaviest concentration of claims, as well as properties in Zone X where recorded water depths reached the highest averages during past flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1% of Fulton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
299 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 5 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 1982, with 108 claims and $452,724 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Fulton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Floodng | Jul 13, 2024 |
| 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 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 6, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
69 since 1996: 50 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Aug 11, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 24, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2024. A cold front triggered a broken line of thunderstorms across north-central Illinois during the evening of June 25th. Some of the cells produced wind gusts of around 60 mph, with one storm dropping golf ball-sized hail in Altona in Knox County. Excessive rainfall rates from another storm created localized flash flooding in Canton in Fulton County.
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2024. On the evening of July 15, 2024, a derecho brought very strong winds, several tornadoes, and heavy rainfall to a good portion of the Midwest. Thunderstorms initiated over central Iowa during the late afternoon hours then quickly spread east-southeast through southern Wisconsin, the northern half of Illinois, southern Michigan, and the northern/central Indiana. The event produced significant tree damage, some struc…
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2024. On the evening of July 15, 2024, a derecho brought very strong winds, several tornadoes, and heavy rainfall to a good portion of the Midwest. Thunderstorms initiated over central Iowa during the late afternoon hours then quickly spread east-southeast through southern Wisconsin, the northern half of Illinois, southern Michigan, and the northern/central Indiana. The event produced significant tree damage, some struc…
Flood · Aug 11, 2023. Thunderstorms developed overnight across Iowa, ahead of a cold front, in an environment characterized by moderate instability and shear. The storms congealed into a line that swept across central Illinois during the early morning hours of August 11, producing scattered damaging winds before weakening after moving east of I-55. The thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall over 1 inch, which led to minor floodi…
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 Fulton 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.