282 flood insurance claims·$2.0M paid·2 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 Livingston 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 and general flooding from severe summer thunderstorms dominate Livingston County, with NOAA records documenting 46 total flood and flash flood events and two deaths over the last 30 years. Recent occurrences include torrential rainfall from thunderstorms in May 2024 and widespread heavy rain and minor flooding produced by a low-pressure system in June 2025.
Federal insurance claims data shows that flood risks extend across multiple zones, though impacts vary significantly. Properties located in FEMA Zone A account for the vast majority of claims with 244 filings, averaging an $8,641 payout and an average recorded water depth of 21 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded fewer claims—only one—but averaged a higher payout of $52,730 with an average water depth of 19 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 24 claims averaging $4,960 with an average water depth of 5 inches, Zone X recorded 10 claims averaging $21,505 with an average water depth of 4 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 3 claims averaging $3,596 with an average water depth of 20 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A due to the high volume of historical claims, as well as properties in unshaded and shaded Zone X areas where individual flood events have resulted in substantially higher average payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Livingston County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
248 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 19 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 158 claims and $1.5M 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Livingston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 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 | Jan 7, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Illinois Winter Snow Storms | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Ice Storm | Feb 14, 1990 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Dec 13, 1982 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 24, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2020 | — |
| Flood | May 17, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jul 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 18, 2025. A large system of low pressure produced widespread thunderstorms which impacted northern Illinois on the 18th. The storms produced damaging winds and torrential rainfall leading to instances of minor flooding during the early afternoon with additional heavy rain continuing into the evening.
Flood · May 13, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms moved across parts of northern Illinois during the afternoon of May 13th which caused isolated wind damage and flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2021. Thunderstorms moved across portions of northeast and east central Illinois from mid morning through early evening on June 26th. Torrential rainfall with these thunderstorms caused flooding in many areas. Two tornadoes also occurred, one in Chatsworth and one in Crete.
Flood · Jun 24, 2021. Slow moving thunderstorms produce heavy rain across portions of central Illinois between Interstate 55 and Interstate 57 from mid morning through early afternoon on June 24th. Flooding was reported in some areas of Livingston County.
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 Livingston 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.