45 flood insurance claims·$626,682 paid
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 LaGrange 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.
23% of LaGrange County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
39 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 3 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 2018, with 17 claims and $429,519 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from LaGrange County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1965.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 5, 2014 |
| Snow | Feb 12, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 12/23/98 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
| Snowstorms | Feb 2, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
4 since 1996: 2 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 20, 2018 | $54,000 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2008 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2006 | $400,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 16, 1997 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 20, 2018. A slow release of a snow pack, containing one to over two inches of water, occurred in the days leading to the event which started the process of river rises in many areas. Low pressure tracked from northwest Iowa into northern Lower Michigan, which ushered in a rapid warmup and equally rapid release of any remaining water in the snow-pack. Several rounds of rain occurred between the 19th and 21st of February acro…
Flood · Feb 6, 2008. A snowpack of one to three inches rapidly melted as warm air arrive in the region. This snowmelt, combined with a partially frozen, very moist ground and rainfall from two to locally over 3 inches, resulted in an increase in low land and river flooding running along and south of a Knox to north of Millersburg line. At the onset, some flash flooding occurred in areas experiencing rainfall rates of one-half to one i…
Flash Flood · Aug 16, 1997. Widespread flooding caused by three plus inches of rain acrosssouthern half of county.
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 LaGrange 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.