20 flood insurance claims·$120,662 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 Moultrie 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 floods from severe thunderstorms dominate the local flood history, accounting for 23 out of 30 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 standard flood events. Heavy rainfall systems driven by low pressure boundaries frequently impact the area, such as a multi-day storm system that brought heavy rainfall and flooding on May 4, 2017. Another severe weather event occurred on January 11, 2020, when waves of low pressure along a stationary front dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain across a corridor including Moultrie County, resulting in local flooding.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the closest attention to properties located in designated Zone A, which recorded 8 NFIP claims with an average payout of $20,817 and an average recorded water depth of 24 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X areas also warrant attention, having logged 5 claims averaging $7,834 with an average water depth of 10 inches. Additionally, properties with unknown zone designations accounted for 6 claims averaging $2,019 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
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 12 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 6 claims and $97,150 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Moultrie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1990.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 29, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 19, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Ice Storm | Feb 14, 1990 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
30 since 1996: 23 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 11, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
| Flood | May 4, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2017 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 11, 2020. Several waves of low pressure tracking along a nearly stationary frontal boundary brought periods of locally heavy rainfall to central Illinois on January 10th and 11th. The front gradually shifted eastward into the Ohio River Valley and brought an end to the rain by the evening of January 11th. Storm total rainfall was heaviest in a corridor including Shelby, Moultrie, Douglas, Coles, Cumberland, Effingham, and…
Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2019. A wave of low pressure tracking along a nearly stationary frontal boundary triggered several clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms across central Illinois during the afternoon and early evening of June 19th. Two weak tornadoes briefly touched down producing minor damage; one in northeast Christian County and one in central Moultrie County. Other thunderstorm cells produced strong wind gusts and minor damage…
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 Moultrie 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.