47 flood insurance claims·$842,389 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 Gallatin 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.
River flooding dominates Gallatin County, supported by NOAA Storm Events Database records showing 149 flood events compared to 22 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Prolonged heavy rainfall across the Ohio, Wabash, and Green River Valleys frequently drives regional high water. For example, a prolonged flooding event began in February 2025 as multiple rounds of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River at Shawneetown to reach a moderate flood stage, cresting at 44.7 feet and continuing into early March. Similarly, well above normal upstream rainfall led to minor flooding along the Wabash River and near the Wabash/Ohio confluence in April 2024, impacting rural roads, agriculture, and oil wells.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties situated in FEMA Zone A have experienced the highest impact, recording 33 claims with an average payout of $24,326 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Properties in Zone X (Unshaded) also face risk, averaging $20,239 per claim with an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Homeowners, journalists, and real estate agents monitoring properties near major rivers, within Zone A, or in low-lying bottomland areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk in this county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Gallatin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
38 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 2011, with 22 claims and $668,091 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.
52 NOAA storm reports from Gallatin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 8, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Record/near Record Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 1, 1997 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
171 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 149 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 10, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 30, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 27, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 21, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 10, 2025. Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall over the Green, Tennessee, and Ohio Valleys from January 31st through February 15th resulted in rising water levels on the Ohio River. Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River at Shawneetown beginning on February 10th and moderate flooding eventually developed from the 21st to the 26th when the river crested at 44.7 feet. Minor flooding continued into early March.
Flood · Mar 1, 2025. A prolonged flooding event on the Ohio river, that began in the middle of February, continued into March at Shawneetown, Olmsted, and Cairo. Minor flooding of bottomland continued at all three locations. Heavy rainfall in the middle of February was the cause of rising river levels which lowered just below flood stage at all three sites from the afternoon of the 1st to the early morning of the 2nd.
Flood · Jan 30, 2024. Well above normal rainfall along the Ohio River Valley in January led to rising rivers, with flood stage exceeded slightly at Shawneetown by the end of the month, continuing into early February. Minor flooding resulted in very limited impacts in bottomland areas.
Flood · Apr 7, 2024. Well above normal rainfall upstream on the White, Wabash, and Ohio Rivers late March through mid-April led to minor flooding occurring mid-month along the Wabash River and just downstream of the Wabash/Ohio confluence in Southeast Illinois. River crests occurred between the 19th and 21st, with a swift decline in river levels bringing an end of flooding shortly after. Flooding of low-lying areas occurred, with limi…
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 Gallatin 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.