32 flood insurance claims·$168,261 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 Pulaski 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 overflow along the Ohio, Mississippi, and Big Muddy rivers dominates the flood profile of Pulaski County, accounting for 123 recorded flood events and 1 death over the last 30 years, alongside 14 flash flood events. Heavy regional rainfall frequently drives these events, such as a prolonged Ohio River flood in February and March 2025 that caused minor flooding of bottomland at Olmsted and Cairo, and another heavy rain event in May 2024 that pushed local rivers to flood stage and inundated low-lying areas for up to eight days.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties within mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas, specifically Zone A, have experienced repeated claims averaging 9 inches of recorded water depth and $8,343 per payout. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties have seen fewer claims but recorded higher average payouts of $15,784 and an average water depth of 42 inches.
Homeowners, journalists, and real estate agents should pay the closest attention to properties situated near the county's major river systems, particularly in low-lying bottomlands and designated Zone A areas where recurring river overflow impacts structures and agricultural fields.
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 11 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 1983, with 5 claims and $3,678 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.
47 NOAA storm reports from Pulaski County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 6, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 1, 1997 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 15, 1995 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 13, 1993 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
137 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 123 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 11, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 28, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2023 | $150,000 |
| Flood | Mar 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 15, 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.
Flood · Mar 1, 2025. A prolonged flooding event on the Ohio river, that began in the middle of February, continued into March at Shawneetown, Olmsted, and Cairo. Minor flooding of bottomland continued at all three locations. Heavy rainfall in the middle of February was the cause of rising river levels which lowered just below flood stage at all three sites from the afternoon of the 1st to the early morning of the 2nd.
Flood · May 11, 2024. Heavy rainfall in early May, culminating in the May 8th severe weather and flooding event, resulted in rising river levels on the Lower Ohio, Big Muddy, and Mississippi Rivers, with Thebes returning to minor flood and Murphysboro, Olmsted, and Cairo reaching flood stage shortly after. Minor flooding in Southern Illinois around these river sites lasted 5 to 8 days with impacts limited to low-lying areas.
Flood · Mar 28, 2023. A nearly stationary front draped itself from central Texas northeast through the Ohio River Valley and produced multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms, some with very heavy rainfall. Scattered showers and thunderstorms resulted in several cases of flooding or flash flooding. One to three inches of rain fell across the region with isolated higher amounts before the front passed east on the 25th. Moderate to h…
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 Pulaski 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.