113 flood insurance claims·$1.3M 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 Orange 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 from severe weather and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Orange County, Indiana, accounting for 33 out of 41 total flood events over the last 30 years alongside 8 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates these localized hazards. In February 2016, a potent storm system dropped 2 to 3 inches of rain quickly across Orange and Dubois counties, causing flash flooding on area roads. Later, in August 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida interacted with a stationary cold front to produce heavy rainfall and isolated flash flooding across the region.
Insurance claims data from FEMA highlight varying impacts across different zones. Properties in unknown zones recorded 81 claims with an average payout of $7,797 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone A properties filed 27 claims averaging $12,382 with an average water depth of 8 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties logged only 5 claims, but these averaged $140,749 in payouts with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in unmapped areas and Zone A should pay close attention to these flood risks, as well as properties in Zone X given the high severity of sporadic claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Orange County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
27 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 2008, with 19 claims and $261,734 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Orange County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1979, 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 Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 1, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jul 23, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 2, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 7, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Sep 10, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2021. As the remnants of Hurricane Ida moved northeast through the Lower Ohio Valley, its moisture interacted with a near stationary cold front over southern Indiana. This produced a favorable environment for heavy rainfall which resulted in isolated flash flooding across southern Indiana.
Flood · Jul 23, 2017. Unseasonably warm and humid conditions prevailed across the lower Ohio Valley. A long lived complex of thunderstorms tracked from Kansas eastward through Missouri, Illinois, and parts of southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. Sporadic wind damage occurred as these storms tracked through portions of southern Indiana.
Flash Flood · Feb 2, 2016. A very potent storm system approached the lower Ohio Valley during the evening hours on February 2nd. A line of showers and thunderstorms moved into the area, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds. Between 2 and 3 inches of rain quickly fell across Orange and Dubois counties, which resulted in some flash flooding on area roads.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2015. A very warm and unstable air mass brought a few rounds of severe thunderstorms to southern Indiana, starting during the evening hours Thursday June 25th. Isolated storms developed first, producing some sporadic wind damage. Then later that night, a complex of organized storms brought damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding during the early morning hours June 26th. Later that same afternoon, a strong surface…
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 Orange 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.