246 flood insurance claims·$5.5M paid·6 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 Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County experiences a flood risk dominated by standard flooding events, with 83 flood events and 30 flash flood events—including 1 death—recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Flash
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Jefferson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
210 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 1997, with 66 claims and $1.4M paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 6 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 And Flooding | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Feb 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 30, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
113 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 83 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | $200,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 25, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2022. During the afternoon and evening hours of September 3rd, a combination of a moist, unstable environment and relatively light steering level winds over the Ohio Valley facilitated the development of slow moving showers and thunderstorms which produced heavy rainfall across southern Indiana. Several broken lines of convection drifted from west to east across the region, spurred on by 1000-1500 J/kg MLCAPE and Precip…
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2021. During a warm summer day with high pressure over the region, a severe thunderstorm was able to breakout in the high instability capped environment. The result was isolated wind damage and flooding in Jefferson County.
Flood · Feb 25, 2018. Repeated rounds of moderate to heavy rainfall across the entire Ohio River basin totaled between 8 to 9 inches across southern Indiana from February 15 to February 28. These totals were generally 7+ inches, or 200 to 400% of normal values for mid to late February. The large areal extent of the excessive rainfall led to significant rises on area rivers, including the Ohio River. This resulted in numerous flash floo…
Flood · Feb 23, 2018. Repeated rounds of moderate to heavy rainfall across the entire Ohio River basin totaled between 8 to 9 inches across southern Indiana from February 15 to February 28. These totals were generally 7+ inches, or 200 to 400% of normal values for mid to late February. The large areal extent of the excessive rainfall led to significant rises on area rivers, including the Ohio River. This resulted in numerous flash floo…
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 Jefferson 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.