2,547 flood insurance claims·$22.7M 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 Peoria 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 heavy summer thunderstorms and stationary frontal boundaries dominates the flood risk profile in Peoria County, Illinois, accounting for 39 out of 49 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 10 standard floods resulting in 1 fatality. Recent documented events include a slow-moving band of showers and thunderstorms that caused isolated urban flash flooding in July 2023, as well as persistent frontal boundaries triggering heavy rainfall in August 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. High-risk Zone A properties have logged the vast majority of insurance claims at 2,127, with an average payout of $9,964 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. However, properties in lower-risk or unmapped zones also experience significant impacts. Zone X properties recorded the highest average payout at $26,206 with an average water depth of 7 inches, while unshaded Zone X properties averaged $12,521 per claim with 5 inches of recorded water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A due to the sheer volume of claims, as well as properties in Zone X and unmapped areas where lower claim frequencies are offset by substantial average payout amounts and standing water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Peoria County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
2,318 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 1982, with 575 claims and $2.7M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Peoria County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 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 | Sep 13, 2008 |
| Snow | 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 Storms & Flooding | Feb 23, 1985 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
49 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 20, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 20, 2023. As a surface low pressure system tracked northwest of Illinois, semi-discrete thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front. These storms produced scattered large hail, as well as damaging winds, across west-central and central Illinois. Storms weakened by late evening as they moved into eastern Illinois.
Flash Flood · Jul 2, 2023. A low pressure system positioned over northern Illinois resulted in a band of slow-moving showers and thunderstorms that produced heavy rainfall. The rains resulted in isolated flash flooding in urban areas of Peoria County.
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2022. A persistent frontal boundary draped across central Illinois continued to be the focus for strong to severe thunderstorm development during the morning of August 2nd. A low-level jet interacting with the boundary triggered the first cluster of storms across portions of Sangamon and Logan counties during the pre-dawn hours, with additional cells forming from Galesburg to near Lawrenceville as the morning progresse…
Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2020. An approaching cold front triggered a line of strong thunderstorms across west-central Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening of April 28th. A few of the cells produced hail as large as quarters and localized flash flooding. Due to outflow and cell mergers, a brief tornado developed northwest of Dawson in eastern Sangamon County. Minor house damage occurred in Dawson as the tornado quickly tracked…
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 Peoria 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.