10 flood insurance claims·$30,378 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 Wabash 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 and prolonged high water along major river systems dominate the flood risk in Wabash County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 104 flood events resulting in one death, alongside 18 flash flood events driven by heavy rainfall.
Recent history illustrates this river-driven risk. In April 2024, well above normal rainfall upstream on the White, Wabash, and Ohio Rivers caused minor flooding along the Wabash River, inundating low-lying areas and impacting rural roads, agriculture, and oil wells. Earlier, in April 2023, continued high water kept rivers above flood stage, with the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel briefly reaching moderate flood stage and flooding low-lying fields and woodlands. Heavy rains also quickly inundated ditches and roads across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties located in Zone A face direct exposure to these overflow events, averaging 14 inches of recorded water depth and payouts of $3,375 per claim. Homeowners, journalists, and real estate agents should pay the closest attention to properties situated near rivers and low-lying agricultural areas susceptible to extended river crests.
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 14 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 1985, with 4 claims and $4,672 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.
52 NOAA storm reports from Wabash County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1989.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Nov 17, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Record/near Record Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Apr 21, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 1996 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | May 15, 1990 |
| Severe Storms & Tornadoes | Jan 7, 1989 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
122 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 104 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 26, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2022 | $4,000 |
| Flood | Jul 27, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 19, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 4, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 10, 2024. Well above normal rainfall upstream on the White, Wabash, and Ohio Rivers late March through mid-April led to minor flooding occurring mid-month along the Wabash River and just downstream of the Wabash/Ohio confluence in Southeast Illinois. River crests occurred between the 19th and 21st, with a swift decline in river levels bringing an end of flooding shortly after. Flooding of low-lying areas occurred, with limi…
Flood · Mar 26, 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…
Flood · Mar 25, 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…
Flood · Apr 1, 2023. The river flooding that began in March ended during the first half of April. All or portions of the Ohio, Wabash, Little Wabash, and Big Muddy Rivers started the month above flood stage. Some moderate river flooding was observed in March, but the flooding in April was minor on all the rivers. The exception was on the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel, which briefly reached moderate flood stage on April 1st. The flooding…
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 Wabash 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.