81 flood insurance claims·$984,538 paid·3 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 Knox 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.
Slow-moving thunderstorms and river overflow drive the flood risk in Knox County, where the NOAA Storm Events Database records 160 flood events and 43 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include slow-moving thunderstorms that caused flash flooding in the town of Oaktown on July 27, 2025, and a record-breaking low pressure system that brought heavy rain and strong winds on March 3, 2023. Additionally, a multi-day rain event brought 2 to 4.5 inches of rain on April 5, 2025, exacerbating ongoing creek and river flooding and pushing main stem rivers to major flood stage.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that properties in mapped high-risk areas face frequent water intrusion, with Zone A accounting for 38 claims averaging 16 inches of recorded water depth and $10,664 in payouts. However, properties outside traditional high-risk zones also experience significant losses. Zone X properties recorded an average of 12 inches of water depth with average payouts of $30,425 across 14 claims, while unshaded Zone X properties recorded an average of 4 inches of water depth and $15,245 in payouts across 19 claims. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in Zone A and Zone X, where claims data confirms substantial average water depths and financial losses.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
37% of Knox County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
60 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 10 claims and $233,641 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes and 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.
52 NOAA storm reports from Knox County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1979, 3 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 Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| 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 And Tornadoes | Sep 20, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
203 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 160 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Aug 4, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2022 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Oct 15, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 7, 2019 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2025. Slow moving thunderstorms moved across Knox county during the early evening hours of July 27th causing flash flooding in the town of Oaktown.
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.
Flood · Aug 4, 2025. During the late afternoon and early evening of the 4th, slow moving thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall and flooding to portions of west-central and southwest central Indiana. Flooding was most significant in southeastern Vigo County near Blackhawk where a video showed flash flooding of a field and nearby road. Later in the day, flash flooding also occurred in Daviess County and Lawrence County with two major…
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2023. Rotating supercell thunderstorms over far southwestern central Indiana on the late evening of the 6th transitioned into a squall line that continued into very early on the 7th. Intense rain rates falling within a 3 hour period, produced locally very heavy rainfall, which was focused on northern portions of Knox, Daviess and Martin Counties, where locally 2.50 to 4.50 inches fell with flash flooding in northern Kn…
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 Knox 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.