17 flood insurance claims·$381,085 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 Dubois 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 summer storms dominates the flood history of Dubois County, Indiana. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 74 flash flood events compared to 25 general flood events. Recent activity includes isolated flooding issues caused by a stalled cold front dropping multiple waves of convection across southern Indiana in July 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance claims data shows historical payouts across multiple zones. Zone A properties account for 8 claims with an average payout of $32,750 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X properties recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $53,295 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $1,950 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $252 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, as well as properties vulnerable to sudden flash flooding from heavy summer convective storms.
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 1 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 2017, with 5 claims and $187,398 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.
34 NOAA storm reports from Dubois County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1979, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 1, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Jul 3, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
99 since 1996: 74 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 20, 2020 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Mar 19, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2025. On July 17th, a west to east oriented cold front dropped southeast from the Midwest and stalled along the Ohio River. Multiple waves of convection along the front continued moving west to east across southern Indiana before the front lifted back north on July 20th. Isolated flooding issues were observed in multiple counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 3, 2024. A slow-moving cold front lingered across the Ohio Valley, bringing multiple waves of showers and thunderstorms from July 3rd through July 5th. Localized training of heavier showers and thunderstorms resulted in flash flooding, particularly in Dubois County during the afternoon and evening hours on July 3rd. Over this three day period, scattered strong to severe storms produced mainly isolated straight-line wind da…
Flash Flood · Mar 3, 2023. On March 3rd, 2023, a historically strong low pressure system moved across the lower Ohio Valley, bringing heavy rainfall, severe weather, and most notably, very strong gradient winds as it moved across the region. On the synoptic scale, a shortwave upper-level trough located over the mid-Mississippi Valley became negatively tilted during the morning hours of March 3rd. A 120 knot 500 mb jet developed across centr…
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2022. During the late afternoon hours on July 24th, strong to severe thunderstorms developed across southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana ahead of a surface cold front located immediately to the northwest. Ahead of the cold front, temperatures across southwestern Indiana surged into the low-to-mid 90s during the afternoon on the 24th, with dewpoints residing in the mid-70s. This allowed for 3000-4000 J/kg of mi…
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 Dubois 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.