3,013 flood insurance claims·$48.8M 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 Lake 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.
Over the last thirty years, river and stream flooding combined with flash flooding from summer thunderstorms has dominated the flood character of Lake County, Indiana, supported by recorded occurrences of lakeshore and coastal flooding. Severe weather events are exemplified by storms in July and August 2025, when torrential rainfall of two to five inches caused localized flooding, and an August 2025 event that resulted in approximately 1,000 flooded structures and nearly $4 million in damages across Lake County. Additional heavy rain and thunderstorms produced widespread flooding across the area in December 2025.
Property owners should assess their specific location relative to FEMA flood zones to understand their exposure. National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that Zone A properties carry the heaviest historical claim volume with 2,443 claims averaging $23,119 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties in Zone X_SHADED also face significant risk, averaging $30,364 per claim with an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, while claims in Zone X average $18,296 with a 14-inch average depth, and Zone X_UNSHADED claims average $12,420 with a 13-inch average depth. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and shaded Zone X areas where historical claim payouts and water depths are most pronounced.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Lake County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
2,666 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 13 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 920 claims and $32.5M 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 Lake County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 5, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 8, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 7, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 15, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
97 since 1996: 36 flash floods, 51 river or area floods and 10 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 28, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | $4.0M |
| Flood | Aug 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 17, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 17, 2023 | $10.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 28, 2025. Periods of heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms produced flooding across parts of far northwest Indiana on December 28th. Storm total rainfall amounts included 3.98 inches three miles east of Portage; 3.51 inches in St. John; 3.33 inches one mile east of Schererville; 2.95 inches one mile south of Merrillville; 2.74 inches in Porter and 2.35 inches two miles north northwest of Portage.
Flood · Jul 26, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northwest Indiana during the morning and afternoon of July 26th producing localized flooding.
Flood · Aug 19, 2025. A series of strong thunderstorms brought torrential rain and flooding to portions of far northwestern Indiana during the evening and night of the 18th. Automated rain gauges and Cocorahs reports from northern Lake and Porter Counties generally ranged between two and four inches with isolated reports closer to five inches. Initial estimates have around 1,000 structures flooded in Lake County amounting to near $4 mi…
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2025. A series of strong thunderstorms brought torrential rain and flooding to portions of far northwestern Indiana during the evening and night of the 18th. Automated rain gauges and Cocorahs reports from northern Lake and Porter Counties generally ranged between two and four inches with isolated reports closer to five inches. Initial estimates have around 1,000 structures flooded in Lake County amounting to near $4 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 Lake 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.