238 flood insurance claims·$1.6M paid·6 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 Henry 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 severe summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Henry County, complemented by river flooding driven by saturated soils and heavy seasonal rains. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 36 flash flood events and 25 general flood events.
Recent historic events illustrate these hazards. In May 2019, extensive regional rainfall totaling 5 to 8 inches, combined with saturated soils from a wet two-week period, pushed the Rock and Green rivers to major flood levels. Earlier that year in February 2019, an ice jam on the Rock River near Prophetstown caused significant river flooding, with the river at Joslin hitting major flood stage.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to locations within FEMA Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of local NFIP claims (148 claims with an average payout of $11,356 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches). Claims also occur in Zone UNKNOWN (68 claims, average payout of $1,901, average recorded water depth of 2 inches) and Zone X (17 claims, average payout of $16,177, average recorded water depth of 3 inches), indicating that flood risks extend beyond standard high-risk designated areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Henry County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
153 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 11 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 1979, with 61 claims and $91,849 paid.
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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Henry County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 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 |
| Illinois Winter Snow Storms | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
61 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2020 | — |
| Flood | May 31, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 26, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2020. An extended period of showers and thunderstorms affected the area June 3-5. The first of these events occurred during morning hours of June 3rd when a a line of thunderstorms moved from eastern Iowa into northwest Illinois along the Interstate 80 corridor and quickly intensified. This line of thunderstorms produced hail, heavy rains, and damaging winds in Henry, Bureau, Putnam, and Warren Counties. One to two…
Flood · May 31, 2019. Extensive flooding occurred late May and into June across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and northeast Missouri. The last half of May was very wet with 5-8 inches of rain falling over the region. This combined with saturated soils, brought many rivers above Moderate to Major flood levels. Many climate sites only saw 3 days of no precipitation from May 16th to May 31st. |The Wapsipinicon, Iowa, Skunk, Des Mo…
Flash Flood · Apr 30, 2019. A large area of showers and thunderstorms moved through northern Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois from the early morning hours through afternoon hours of April 30th. In the first few hours of the event, large hail occurred with the strongest storms that moved through northeast Missouri into southeast Iowa. As the event continued, flash flooding became the main impact, with flooding reported in portions of southeast Io…
Flood · Feb 26, 2019. The early afternoon of February 24th, following a heavy rain event, an ice jam formed on the Rock River near Prophetstown, Illinois. Water rose to flood along the river, especially between Prophetstown and Lyndon Illinois through February 27th. The Rock River at Joslin, downstream of the ice jam, hit major flood stage for a few hours the night of February 26th.
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 Henry 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.