497 flood insurance claims·$5.8M 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 Hamilton 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.
Riverine flooding and flash flooding from storms dominate Hamilton County, with NOAA records showing 53 flood events and 26 flash flood events resulting in a total of four deaths over the last 30 years. Heavy multi-day rainfall systems, such as the event on April 11, 2024, alongside torrential training downpours like those on August 1, 2024, have driven widespread inundation and major river stage rises across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk Zone A properties have experienced the heaviest losses, recording 361 claims with an average payout of $18,960 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties also face exposure, accounting for 84 claims averaging $14,433 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while smaller numbers of claims are distributed across unshaded, shaded, and unknown zones.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A riverine flood hazard areas, as well as structures in Zone X zones that remain vulnerable to flash flooding from intense summer rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Hamilton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
388 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 6 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 2003, with 96 claims and $921,427 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and 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.
29 NOAA storm reports from Hamilton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 5, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 30, 2008 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
79 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 53 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2020 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Jun 16, 2019 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A deep, amplified upper trough encompassing most of North America phased with a broad area of surface low pressure slowly approaching central Indiana from the Mississippi Delta region. Resultant strong advection of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico produced heavy rain from the 10th afternoon to the morning of the 11th, with a southwest to northeast band of 2.00 to 3.00 inches of rainfall across the region. Areas…
Flash Flood · Aug 1, 2024. A remnant southwest to northeast boundary from early morning convection combined with an approaching upper trough and associated cold front, as well as anomalous precipitable water values up to 2.00 inches and CAPE around 2000 J/kg. Resultant thunderstorms came in two phases, first a marginally severe bow echo that crossed far southwestern central Indiana, and then torrential, training downpours from northern por…
Flood · Mar 18, 2021. During the daytime hours of March 18th, a strong weather system was moving through Indiana with periods of strong gradient winds much of the day with periods of heavy rain during the afternoon and evening hours. Overall impacts were fairly minimal, but a few stronger gusts caused isolated damage.
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 Hamilton 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.