288 flood insurance claims·$5.7M 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 Hancock 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.
Over the last 30 years, flood events in Hancock County, Illinois have been dominated by river flooding, with 57 recorded flood events compared to 37 flash flood events. Slow-moving, efficient rainfall producers caused significant impacts during these decades, such as when trained spotters reported 2 to 4 inches of rain leading to flash flooding in July 2021. Additionally, extensive regional flooding occurred from late May into June 2019 after 5 to 8 inches of rain fell on saturated soils, bringing many rivers above moderate to major flood levels.
Residents and property owners should pay the closest attention based on the distribution of National Flood Insurance Program claims. Zone A holds the vast majority of historical claims in the county with 252 filings, averaging $25,371 per payout and a recorded water depth average of 28 inches. Properties located in Zone X_UNSHADED also warrant attention, having recorded an average water depth of 38 inches across 13 claims with an average payout of $22,933. Lower claim volumes and depths were recorded in Zone X, Zone X_SHADED, and unknown zones, indicating that high-risk riverine areas face the most severe historical flood impacts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Hancock County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
273 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 27 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 1993, with 108 claims and $2.1M 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Hancock County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 29, 2023 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 6, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
94 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 57 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 22, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 19, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2022. Thunderstorms developed across all of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and far northeast Missouri on the afternoon and evening of May 31, 2022. Initially, storms were not severe as they worked through an environment that was lacking strong mid-level instability. This changed as storms reached west central Illinois, where some atmospheric recovery was able to take place during the late afternoon hours from cloud co…
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2021. A stalled storm system centered near Galesburg Illinois brought several rounds of showers and embedded thunderstorms to northwest Illinois through the day. These showers and thunderstorms were slow moving westward across the area and were efficient rainfall producers. Trained spotters reported 2 to 4 inches of rain in Hancock and McDonough Counties that lead to flash flooding from the late morning into the late a…
Flood · Apr 30, 2019. The Mississippi River remained high through the month of April due to a combination of snow melt and several rounds of heavy rain. Rain in the second half of the month caused the Mississippi River to rise back above major flood stage on April 30th.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2019. A slow, south moving cold front and an outflow boundary from morning thunderstorms over northern Missouri and Illinois, combined with a hot and humid environment to produce widespread showers and thunderstorms across portions of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri during the evening and early overnight hours. Several thunderstorms became severe, and produced large hail and damaging winds. Sever…
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 Hancock 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.