2,456 flood insurance claims·$28.4M paid·4 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 Lake 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 Lake County, Illinois, accounting for 47 events alongside 39 general floods and 5 lakeshore floods recorded over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include severe weather on June 22, 2024, when thunderstorms dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain across extreme northeast Illinois, causing localized flash flooding. A subsequent derecho on July 15, 2024, produced widespread wind damage and 30 tornadoes across northeast Illinois while knocking out power for 430,000 customers.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across multiple zones. Zone A recorded the highest volume with 1,688 claims averaging an $18,084 payout with an average of 5 inches of recorded water depth. Zone X recorded 395 claims averaging a $16,527 payout with an average of 7 inches of recorded water depth. Additional claims occurred in unknown zones (170 claims, averaging $3,353 and 2 inches of water depth), unshaded Zone X (156 claims, averaging $6,804 and 4 inches of water depth), and shaded Zone X (46 claims, averaging $8,789 and 2 inches of water depth).
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risks, as these areas account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and property damage in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Lake County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,891 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 2017, with 428 claims and $10.7M 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Lake County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Record Snow And Near Record Snow | Feb 5, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 20, 2007 |
| 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.
91 since 1996: 47 flash floods, 39 river or area floods and 5 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 23, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 11, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 28, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois on May 28th producing isolated flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2024. A line of severe thunderstorms dropped south across northern Illinois during the evening and night of the 22nd. The line produced four EF-0 tornadoes in addition to widespread wind damage across the Chicago metro. Many also saw torrential rainfall and localized flash flooding, particularly in extreme northeast Illinois north of the I-90 corridor where a widespread 3-6 of rain fell.
Flood · Jul 15, 2024. A derecho moved across northern Illinois during the evening of July 15th producing widespread wind damage and 30 tornadoes in northeast Illinois. One of these tornadoes crossed into northwest Indiana. At the height of the storms, 430,000 customers lost power with some power not restored for four days, on July 19th.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2024. A derecho moved across northern Illinois during the evening of July 15th producing widespread wind damage and 30 tornadoes in northeast Illinois. One of these tornadoes crossed into northwest Indiana. At the height of the storms, 430,000 customers lost power with some power not restored for four days, on July 19th.
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 Lake 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.