47 flood insurance claims·$272,097 paid
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 Macoupin 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Macoupin County, accounting for 27 out of 28 recorded flood events over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Historical NOAA reports illustrate the severity of these intense rain events, such as the July 20, 2016 flash flooding caused by slow-moving storms dropping up to 4 inches of rain, and the August 12, 2019 event driven by training storms that produced heavy rainfall rates over five hours.
NFIP claim data shows that property damage occurs across multiple zones, with 28 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging an average water depth of 3 inches and a $4,943 payout, 16 claims in Zone A averaging an average water depth of 9 inches and a $7,707 payout, and 3 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging an average water depth of 11 inches and a $9,326 payout. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and unshaded Zone X, where recorded flood depths and average payouts are notably higher.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 6 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 14 claims and $43,043 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Macoupin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1982.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 13, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 6, 1983 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Dec 13, 1982 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
28 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2022 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 26, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 2, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2022. During the early morning of Tuesday, July 26th, 2022, a complex of training thunderstorms set up roughly along the I-70 corridor in Missouri and I-64 corridor in Illinois. Several rounds of thunderstorms with rainfall rates exceeding 2in/hr affected this area, including the St. Louis metropolitan area, through the early hours of July 26th and into the morning commute. Upwards of 11 of rain fell over the course of…
Flash Flood · Aug 12, 2019. Elevated convection developed in response to low level moisture convergence just north of a slowly retreating warm front. With very high precipitable water values in excess of 2 inches, this created very heavy rainfall rates as the storms trained over the same locations for over 5 hours. This caused flash flooding in a number of locations.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2016. A line of slow moving storms tracked south across west central, southwest Illinois on July 20th. Up to 4 inches of rain was reported with these storms, with locally higher amounts. There were several reports of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Dec 26, 2015. A prolonged period of rainfall occurred from the early morning hours of December 26th to the evening of December 28th. The heaviest rainfall occurred in a 50 to 75 mile wide swath from southwest Missouri through the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area and into central Illinois. Three day rainfall totals within this swath ranged from 6 to 12 inches, with lighter amounts extending both northwest and southeast to t…
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 Macoupin 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.