2,309 flood insurance claims·$18.8M 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 Marion 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.
Marion County experiences a dominant flood character driven by a balanced mix of prolonged river flooding and intense flash floods. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 67 flood events resulting in two deaths, alongside 57 flash flood events. Recent weather highlights this risk, such as an April 2024 event where a low-pressure system and Gulf moisture dropped 2.00 to 3.00 inches of rain across the Indianapolis Metro, causing widespread flooding. Additionally, a multi-day storm sequence in April 2025 dumped 2 to 4.5 inches of rain on top of previous accumulation, causing widespread flash flooding and pushing main stem rivers to major flood stage. Torrential downpours also triggered flash flooding across northern portions of the Indianapolis Metro in August 2024.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend well beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A carries the heaviest burden with 1,677 claims averaging $12,040 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. However, properties outside high-risk zones also sustain damage; Zone X accounts for 263 claims with an average payout of $12,890 and an average water depth of 6 inches, while Zone X shaded properties recorded 46 claims averaging $10,302 with an average water depth of 4 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A along rivers and streams, as well as properties in Zone X and other lower-risk zones where heavy rainfall from severe thunderstorms frequently causes unexpected property damage.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Marion County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,785 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 392 claims and $3.1M 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.
44 NOAA storm reports from Marion County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1990, 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.
124 since 1996: 57 flash floods and 67 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2021 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | $10,000 |
— = 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.
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2025. A strong low pressure system generated a line of strong to severe thunderstorms that started in Illinois and moved across central Indiana. Multiple severe storms were embedded within the line and some of these produced tornadoes. Eleven tornadoes impacted central Indiana, ten of which occurred along an overall west-southwest to east-northeast area from north of Terre Haute to north of Muncie. Four of these events…
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…
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 Marion 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.