25 flood insurance claims·$373,624 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 Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County experiences a nearly even distribution of flood and flash flood events. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 22 flood events and 20 flash flood events. Severe storms can develop rapidly and move through the region, as demonstrated by storms producing high winds and heavy rainfall in June 2019 and a rapidly intensifying storm system in December 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts vary significantly by zone. Properties in Zone A experienced 20 claims with an average payout of $20,526 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. In contrast, Zone X properties recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $7,324 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X unshaded properties logged 1 claim averaging $2,714 with an average water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, which face the highest average water depths and claim payouts, while properties in Zone X should still account for moderate flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 11 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 2013, with 11 claims and $291,643 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 30, 2025 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 22 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 11, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 5, 2019 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2019 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Sep 25, 2018 | $5,000 |
| Flood | May 1, 2016 | $500 |
| Flood | Aug 23, 2014 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2013 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 11, 2009 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 11, 2021. A rapidly intensifying storm system tracking northeastward through the Quad Cities area produced strong low-level southerly flow over central Indiana, including a low level jet (LLJ) of 70 mph at the 850 mb level, during the evening and overnight of the 10th. These winds near the surface brought unseasonably high dewpoints as high as the low to mid 60s that destabilized the atmosphere, while the LLJ resulted in a…
Flood · Jun 5, 2019. Several places saw damaging winds topple trees into roads, cars, and a house. The storms started to develop over White and Benton counties with a general motion to the south east. By the time the storms reached Tippecanoe county they had strengthened enough to become severe. Several trees fell over onto yards and cars.
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2019. Several places saw damaging winds topple trees into roads, cars, and a house. The storms started to develop over White and Benton counties with a general motion to the south east. By the time the storms reached Tippecanoe county they had strengthened enough to become severe. Several trees fell over onto yards and cars.
Flood · Sep 25, 2018. A couple different waves of showers and thunderstorms moved northeast during the early morning and late morning/early afternoon of September the 25th. This multiple rounds of rain produced flooding to the northwest of Indianapolis.
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 Montgomery 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.