302 flood insurance claims·$3.8M 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 Delaware 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.
Delaware County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by river floods and flash floods, with 40 general flood events and 36 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent NOAA narratives illustrate these hazards, noting an April 2025 event where cumulative rainfall totals of 2 to 4.5 inches on top of prior rainfall caused widespread flash flooding and pushed main stem rivers to major flood stage. Additionally, training heavy rains from slow-moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding in and near Muncie in July 2025, while storms dropped over 6 inches of rain in spots across Madison and Delaware counties in July 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A should pay the closest attention, as this zone accounts for the vast majority of claims with 206 filings averaging $20,706 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. However, residents in moderate-to-low risk areas should also take note; Zone X properties recorded 32 claims with an average depth of 20 inches and an average payout of $12,850, unshaded Zone X properties recorded 31 claims averaging 6 inches of water depth and $14,038 in payouts, and shaded Zone X properties recorded 18 claims with an average depth of 7 inches and $7,694 in payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Delaware County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
256 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 7 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 2026, with 59 claims and $1.2M 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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Delaware County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Snow | Feb 12, 2007 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Aug 26, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 4, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
76 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 40 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2022 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Dec 11, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2020 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Aug 3, 2020 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Apr 25, 2019 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2019 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2025. Marginally hot and humid conditions on the 26th combined with remnant outflow boundaries and a weak upper level disturbence amid the overall ridge-rider pattern, to produce scattered late day and evening thunderstorms. While most cells were sub-severe, isolated wind damge occurred in Morgan County. Later in the evening, training heavy rains caused flash flooding in and near Muncie.
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 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 · Jul 17, 2022. A complex of storms moved over portions of Madison and Delaware county causing widespread flooding and pockets of flash flooding. The rain fell over the course of several hours with amounts of over 6 inches in spots. Conditions had been fairly dry in the days leading up which limited the extent of flash flooding.
Flood · Dec 11, 2021. A rapidly intensifying storm system tracking northeastward through the Quad Cities area produced strong low-level southerly flow over central Indiana, including a low level jet (LLJ) of 70 mph at the 850 mb level, during the evening and overnight of the 10th. These winds near the surface brought unseasonably high dewpoints as high as the low to mid 60s that destabilized the atmosphere, while the LLJ resulted in a…
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 Delaware 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.