188 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·1 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 McLean 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 character of McLean County, IL, accounting for 38 out of 45 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, with standard floods comprising the remaining 7. Recent events include flash flooding triggered by an upper-level disturbance and outflow boundary on July 8, 2025, and by a lifting warm front on May 7, 2023, both of which brought heavy showers and thunderstorms to the area.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 63 claims with an average payout of $15,071 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X records 36 claims with a higher average payout of $27,775 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Additionally, properties categorized under unknown zones and unshaded Zone X have experienced dozens of claims averaging 2 inches of recorded water depth. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to this risk, as these areas have accumulated the highest number of claims and significant average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
34% of McLean County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
96 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 1982, with 35 claims and $79,769 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.
24 NOAA storm reports from McLean County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 30, 2006 |
| 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 |
| Tornadoes | Apr 11, 1974 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 26, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
45 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2023 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2021 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | $11.8M |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2025. An upper-level disturbance interacting with an outflow boundary triggered scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Illinois River Valley during the morning of July 8th. This initial band of showers tended to dissipate toward midday: however, as the atmosphere destabilized during peak heating, an uptick in convective development was noted further east along and east of I-55 by late afternoon into the evening. W…
Flash Flood · May 7, 2023. A warm front lifting northward into central Illinois triggered clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms during the late evening of May 6th into the early morning of May 7th. The initial cluster tracked through the Illinois River Valley east-southeastward toward Champaign...generally along and north of I-72. Additional cells developed in its wake along and north of the front, eventually congealing into a linear…
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2022. A cold front triggered bands of strong to severe thunderstorms across west-central Illinois during the evening of June 25th. Some of the cells produced wind gusts up to 60mph, resulting in scattered wind damage. In addition, excessive rainfall rates led to localized flash flooding with some of the stronger storms.
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2022. A complex of thunderstorms developed overnight along a warm front in northern Illinois. These storms slowly shifted southward, reaching central Illinois by early afternoon. Storms produced hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding north of the I-74 corridor before dissipating during the evening.
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 McLean 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.