118 flood insurance claims·$2.1M paid·5 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 Jackson 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.
Jackson County, Illinois experiences a flood risk profile dominated by regular river floods, with 159 flood events and one death recorded alongside 44 flash flood events over the last 30 years. NOAA storm reports illustrate this hazard, including a heavy rainfall band that dropped 3 to 5 inches across parts of the county on September 23, 2024, and stationary storms that caused flash flooding issues in Murphysboro on July 13, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones, highlighting distinct risk levels across the area. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 70 filings averaging a $15,677 payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties logged higher average severities despite fewer claims, with 10 claims averaging a $42,119 payout and an average recorded water depth of 31 inches, and 11 claims in Zone X Unshaded averaging an $84,189 payout with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, where historical claim counts and average payout severities indicate significant exposure to flood waters.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
85 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 7 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 2008, with 29 claims and $120,591 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.
77 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 24, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 8, 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 | Apr 28, 1996 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 15, 1995 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
203 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 159 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 13, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2024 | $30,000 |
| Flood | May 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 26, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2023 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 23, 2024. A SW to NE oriented heavy rainfall band crossed Southern Illinois during the late evening hours of the 23rd. A second band formed ahead of the first, and then merged together resulting in a localized higher rainfall total swath of 3-5 inches from Southeast Jackson County through Northwest Williamson County into Southern Franklin County. The highest observed rainfall total was a CoCoRaHS site 2 miles ESE of Bush, I…
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2024. Isolated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours on the 12th in the Quad State. Wind damage occurred in the town of Sesser, including tree and powerline damage. Storms from the previous evening in Sesser might have made some trees more susceptible to damage. Meanwhile, torrential rainfall with nearly stationary storms near Tamaroa produced flash flooding. Isolated storms continued overnight as heavy rai…
Flood · Jul 13, 2024. Isolated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours on the 12th in the Quad State. Wind damage occurred in the town of Sesser, including tree and powerline damage. Storms from the previous evening in Sesser might have made some trees more susceptible to damage. Meanwhile, torrential rainfall with nearly stationary storms near Tamaroa produced flash flooding. Isolated storms continued overnight as heavy rai…
Flood · May 10, 2024. Heavy rainfall in early May, culminating in the May 8th severe weather and flooding event, resulted in rising river levels on the Lower Ohio, Big Muddy, and Mississippi Rivers, with Thebes returning to minor flood and Murphysboro, Olmsted, and Cairo reaching flood stage shortly after. Minor flooding in Southern Illinois around these river sites lasted 5 to 8 days with impacts limited to low-lying areas.
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 Jackson 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.