160 flood insurance claims·$4.9M 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 Brown County, Indiana. 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 severe storms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Brown County, Indiana, accounting for 21 of the 31 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 10 general flood events.
Recent weather data illustrates this risk. In June 2021, a multi-faceted storm system transitioned into a flash flooding event during the overnight hours. Subsequent events caused severe impacts, including an April 2025 system that brought 2 to 4.5 inches of rain on top of prior accumulations of 3 to 5 inches, leading to widespread flash flooding and major river stages. Another heavy rainfall event in June 2025 dropped 3 to 7 inches of total rain across broad areas including Nashville, producing rapid flooding.
NFIP claims data shows that properties in Zone A experience the heaviest financial and physical impacts, with 133 recorded claims averaging a $39,444 payout and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties in Zone X, Zone X Unshaded, and Zone X Shaded have recorded fewer claims, with average payouts ranging from $1,411 to $28,926 and average water depths from 6 to 24 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and areas prone to rapid surface water accumulation from heavy summer thunderstorms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Brown County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
148 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 10 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 55 claims and $1.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Brown County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 30, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 30, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 1, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2025 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2021 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2019 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2019 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Nov 5, 2017 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2025. A couple rounds of scattered heavy rains from late on the 28th through the morning of the 29th brought 1 to 2 inches of rainfall, to several areas from Bloomington into parts of Brown County and Lawrence County. Soon after, more impressive rainfall rates occurred over the same areas from the 29th evening into very early on the 30th, where an additional 3 to 6 inches of rainfall fell on a few local areas.||Resulta…
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. The final round of rain in a stretch of 4 days brought rain amounts of 2-4.5 inches of rain to central Indiana in addition to the 3-5 inches that had fallen. This led to additional widespread flash flooding and exacerbated ongoing creek and river flooding to a point that many main stem rivers ended up reaching major flood stage.
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2025. A strong low pressure system generated a line of strong to severe thunderstorms that started in Illinois and moved across central Indiana. Multiple severe storms were embedded within the line and some of these produced tornadoes. Eleven tornadoes impacted central Indiana, ten of which occurred along an overall west-southwest to east-northeast area from north of Terre Haute to north of Muncie. Four of these events…
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2021. A long lasting and multi faceted storm system moved through central Indiana beginning during the late afternoon hours of June 18th and continued through the evening hours with widespread damaging winds and very large hail before transitioning into a flash flooding event during the overnight hours with significant flash flooding occurring across portions of Owen and Monroe counties. Unfortunately, one person lost…
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 Brown 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.