35 flood insurance claims·$162,371 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 Menard 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 driven by severe storm systems is the dominant flood hazard in Menard County, accounting for 23 of the 26 recorded flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall on saturated soils repeatedly threatens the area, as demonstrated on May 1, 2019, when storms and overflowing farm fields caused the closure of several county roads. Similarly, an extensive storm system dropped between 2.00 and 6.50 inches of rain from April 29 to May 1, 2017, triggering widespread flash flooding and road closures.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties across multiple zones. Zone X leads with 14 claims averaging a $5,160 payout and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. Zone UNKNOWN accounts for 11 claims with an average payout of $2,687 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone A records 10 claims with an average payout of $8,475 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone X, Zone A, and unmapped areas should pay the closest attention to these flood risks, given the documented history of property damage and road closures from flash floods and areal flooding.
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 10 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 1994, with 12 claims and $79,749 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Menard County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Illinois Winter Snow Storms | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 23 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 22, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 22, 2023. A warm front draped along the I-72 corridor served as the initial focusing mechanism for convection across central Illinois on February 22nd. Midday temperatures ranged from the upper 30s north of the boundary in the Peoria area to the lower 70s along and south of I-70. An upper-level disturbance interacting with the sharp temperature gradient triggered clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms during the late…
Flood · May 1, 2019. Heavy rainfall on April 30th led to areal flooding of many central Illinois communities from Morgan County northeastward to DeWitt County on May 1st. Overflowing creeks and water flowing out of farm fields caused the closure of numerous roads. IL-78 just south of the Jacksonville Airport in Morgan County was closed for a time, as were several county roads in Menard and Logan counties.
Flood · Apr 29, 2017. Heavy rainfall impacted central and southeast Illinois from April 29th into April 30th...creating flash flooding, which led to widespread areal flooding. Periods of thunderstorms with very high rainfall rates dropped 2.00 to 6.50 inches of rain across much of central and southeast Illinois from April 29th into early on May 1st. This rainfall, occurring on top of already saturated soils, created flash flooding in a…
Flash Flood · Apr 29, 2017. Low pressure tracking along a stationary frontal boundary near the I-70 corridor brought widespread strong to severe thunderstorms to much of central and southeast Illinois during the late afternoon and evening of April 29th. A tornado briefly touched down in an open field northeast of Alexander in Morgan County. Elsewhere, thunderstorms packed winds of 60-70mph and caused significant wind damage. A downburst w…
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 Menard 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.