1 flood insurance claims·$0 paid·2 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 Pope 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.
River flooding dominates Pope County, accompanied by frequent flash flood events. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 60 flood events and 18 flash flood events.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. In February 2025, heavy rainfall ranging from 2 to 7 inches produced flash flooding north of Golconda when a creek overflowed its banks, while simultaneous heavy rain across the lower Ohio and Tennessee Valleys caused rising water levels on the Ohio River, resulting in minor flooding near Golconda that persisted into early March. An earlier event in February 2022 brought 2 to 4 inches of rain from heavy thunderstorms, triggering isolated flash flooding and more widespread river flooding.
Properties near rivers and areas prone to creek overflow should pay the most attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
28 NOAA storm reports from Pope County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Nov 17, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Record/near Record Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 6, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 1, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
78 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 60 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Mar 3, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 23, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 17, 2025. Heavy rain (3 to 7) over the lower Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on the 15th resulted in rising water levels on the Ohio River, with moderate flooding near Paducah and Olmsted, and minor flooding near Golconda, Smithland, and Cairo. Minor flooding continued into early March near Olmsted and Cairo.
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall (2-5) across much of southern Illinois through the afternoon and evening of the 15th. The heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding north of Golconda where a creek overflowed its banks. Minor flooding of the usual trouble spots occurred in Metropolis.
Flood · Feb 22, 2022. Several rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms moved across the region on the 17th. Two to four inches were common, which resulted in isolated flash flooding and more widespread flooding of rivers. The heavy rain occurred ahead of a cold front as it entered southeast Missouri and southern Illinois from the northwest. Weak waves of low pressure moved northeast along the front. A strong 850 mb jet up to 60 to 70 kno…
Flood · Jan 9, 2022. A series of heavy rainfall events in late December and early January sent the Wabash River and large portions of the Ohio River above flood stage. The river flooding was minor. Low-lying farmland and fields along both rivers were flooded, as well as some river access roads and public recreational land.
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 Pope 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.