308 flood insurance claims·$3.3M paid·4 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 Ogle 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 and general riverine flooding from severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominate the flood history of Ogle County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database has recorded 26 flash flood events and 22 general flood events. Recent incidents include heavy storms in August 2022, when two-day rainfall totals reached 6 to 9 inches and caused widespread flash flooding, as well as scattered thunderstorms producing high winds and heavy rain in April 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts affect properties across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims occurring in high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the majority of claims at 230, with an average payout of $15,083 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 48 claims averaging $4070 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 29 claims averaging $12,157 with an average water depth of 14 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 1 claim averaging $478 with an average water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, which experiences the vast majority of insurance claims and documented water accumulation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Ogle County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
231 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 8 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 1996, with 75 claims and $872,580 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Ogle County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 19, 2010 |
| Record Snow And Near Record Snow | Feb 5, 2008 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Illinois Winter Snow Storms | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 17, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
48 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 22 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 3, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 20, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2025. Isolated thunderstorms produced funnel clouds across central Illinois during the late morning of July 25th. A narrow line of thunderstorms developed over southeast DuPage and central Cook Counties during the late morning of July 25th and continued into the early afternoon producing torrential rainfall and widespread flash flooding. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northern Illinois during the lat…
Flood · Apr 4, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northern Illinois during the afternoon of April 4th producing large hail and wind damage. ||Additional isolated thunderstorms moved across parts of northern Illinois during the evening. High winds occurred north of these storms during the evening, producing isolated wind damage. Tree and power line damage was reported in Mendota along with a damaged roof. A tree…
Flash Flood · Aug 19, 2022. Multiple thunderstorms moved across parts of northwest Illinois during the evening of August 19th into the early morning of August 20th producing heavy rain and localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2022. Heavy rain caused flash flooding across parts of northwest Illinois during the morning of August 8th when rainfall of 3 to 5 inches with locally higher amounts fell. Previous rainfall the day before brought two day rainfall totals to 6 to 9 inches across many areas across northwest Illinois. A church was struck by lightning in Rockford during the morning of August 8th causing significant damage. Rockford Airpor…
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 Ogle 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.