1,087 flood insurance claims·$7.8M 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 Madison 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 Madison County, Illinois, accounting for 27 of the last 30 years of recorded events compared to 13 standard river flood events. Heavy rainfall rates from slow-moving storms frequently overwhelm local drainage. For example, a heavy rain event on August 9, 2020, brought 3 to 7 inches of rain, causing numerous road closures and at least 13 water rescues. Similarly, training storms dropped over 2 inches of precipitable water on August 12, 2019, causing flash flooding across multiple locations. Record river levels also occurred in June 2019 following heavy spring rains and a snowy winter across the upper Midwest and Missouri and Mississippi River basins.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones, requiring specific attention from property owners. Zone A leads with 540 claims averaging an 7-inch water depth and an $11,060 payout. Properties categorized as Zone X recorded 50 claims with an average water depth of 14 inches and an average payout of $28,352. Additionally, unshaded Zone X properties recorded 219 claims averaging 6 inches of water depth, while unknown zones recorded 258 claims averaging 3 inches. Residents in mapped high-risk zones, unshaded moderate-to-low risk zones, and areas with historical drainage vulnerabilities should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
31% of Madison County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
777 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 1979, with 192 claims and $613,039 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Madison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 24, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| 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.
40 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2019 | $24.8M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 28, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 26, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 9, 2020. A high precipitation and flash flooding event occurred over east central Missouri and southwest Illinois beginning during the evening of August 8th, and ending during the early afternoon of August 9th. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches with as much as 7 inches were reported, primarily in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. There were numerous road closures, and at least 13 water rescues. There were no reported inju…
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.
Flood · Jun 2, 2019. After a very snowy winter across the upper Midwest and numerous rounds of heavy rain across the Missouri and Mississippi River basins through the spring and early summer months, the rivers rose to record levels. The flooding was not quite as high as 1993, but a number of sites had record river levels in the top 5.
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.
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 Madison 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.