126 flood insurance claims·$3.8M 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 Monroe 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.
Flash flooding and general flooding from severe storms equally dominate the flood history of Monroe County, Indiana. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 25 flood events resulting in 3 deaths alongside 25 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths.
Recent NOAA narratives illustrate these threats, noting a multi-faceted storm system on June 19, 2021, that produced significant flash flooding across Monroe County and resulted in a fatality. Another flash flood event occurred on June 29, 2025, following totals of 3 to 7 inches of rain across a broad area from Bloomington and Nashville.
NFIP claims data from FEMA indicates that homeowners and real estate agents in specific zones should pay close attention to historical payouts and water depths. Zone A recorded 72 claims with an average payout of $43,543 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 47 claims with an average payout of $38,541 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $8,513 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone D and Zone X_SHADED recorded minimal claim activity with 1 claim each.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Monroe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
78 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 2021, with 25 claims and $1.9M 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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Monroe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 2 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And | Apr 19, 2011 |
| 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
50 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2021 | $2.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2021 | $25.0M · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2019 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2019 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 7, 2019 | $30,000 |
| Flood | May 5, 2017 | $35,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2025. A couple rounds of scattered heavy rains from late on the 28th through the morning of the 29th brought 1 to 2 inches of rainfall, to several areas from Bloomington into parts of Brown County and Lawrence County. Soon after, more impressive rainfall rates occurred over the same areas from the 29th evening into very early on the 30th, where an additional 3 to 6 inches of rainfall fell on a few local areas.||Resulta…
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 · Jun 19, 2021. A long lasting and multi faceted storm system moved through central Indiana beginning during the late afternoon hours of June 18th and continued through the evening hours with widespread damaging winds and very large hail before transitioning into a flash flooding event during the overnight hours with significant flash flooding occurring across portions of Owen and Monroe counties. Unfortunately, one person lost…
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2021. A long lasting and multi faceted storm system moved through central Indiana beginning during the late afternoon hours of June 18th and continued through the evening hours with widespread damaging winds and very large hail before transitioning into a flash flooding event during the overnight hours with significant flash flooding occurring across portions of Owen and Monroe counties. Unfortunately, one person lost…
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 Monroe 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.