19 flood insurance claims·$363,756 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 Piatt 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 profile of Piatt County, IL, accounting for 20 out of 24 recorded flood events over the last 30 years.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these localized heavy downpours, such as the storms on June 22, 2020, which produced flash flooding across Piatt and surrounding counties in advance of a cold front. Similarly, low pressure tracking along a stationary frontal boundary brought excessive rainfall rates and flash flooding to the area on May 19, 2017, following a previous event on May 4, 2017.
Historical NFIP claim data shows that properties located in high-risk Zone A face the most severe financial and physical impacts, recording 10 claims with an average payout of $41,956 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk, compared to Zone X properties which recorded 7 claims averaging $7,778 and an average water depth of 3 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 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 2008, with 7 claims and $101,113 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Piatt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1968.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Winter Storm 1/1/99 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 9, 1994 |
| Severe Ice Storm | Feb 14, 1990 |
| Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Jun 5, 1968 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2017 | — |
| Flood | May 4, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 20, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Jul 12, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 24, 2024. On the morning of May 24th a low pressure system was located over the eastern Dakotas, with Illinois positioned in the warm sector. Over the course of the day, several rounds of thunderstorms occurred. First, a squall line tracked across Iowa and reached Illinois by the morning. The most intense part of this squall line tracked north of central Illinois, but the system did produce one instance of wind damage in St…
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2020. Several clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across central Illinois in advance of a cold front during the afternoon and evening of June 22nd. Some of the storms produced damaging wind gusts of around 60mph and locally heavy downpours. Flash flooding was observed across portions of Macon, Christian, Piatt, and Champaign counties.
Flash Flood · May 19, 2017. Low pressure tracking along a stationary frontal boundary brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms to central Illinois from the evening of May 18th into the morning of May 19th. A few cells produced hail as large as quarters: however, the main impact was locally heavy rainfall. Rain amounts of 3 to 6 inches were common in a corridor from near Jacksonville northeastward through Springfield and Decatur…
Flood · May 4, 2017. Another round of heavy rainfall occurred across central and southeast Illinois on May 4th, as an area of low pressure tracked from the Texas panhandle to southwest Indiana. Rainfall with this particular system was heaviest across south-central Illinois, with many locations along and south of I-72 receiving 1.5 to 2.5 inches. 6-day rainfall totals from April 29-May 4 ranged from 4 to 7 inches. Cooperative weathe…
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 Piatt 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.