20 flood insurance claims·$348,156 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 Parke 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.
River and general flooding dominates Parke County, with 107 standard flood events and 22 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Severe weather patterns frequently drive these conditions, such as an April 2018 low-pressure system that produced heavy rain, flooding, and tornadoes, as well as slow-moving thunderstorms in August 2023 that dropped over 4 inches of rain in localized spots and caused flooding.
Federal insurance records show historical claims distributed across multiple zones. Properties located in Zone A averaged 10 claims with an average payout of $17,081 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches. Zone X properties logged 5 claims with an average payout of $33,160 and an average recorded water depth of 71 inches, while properties with an unknown zone recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $9,541 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within mapped high-risk riverine areas like Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X where historical claims indicate severe water depths during significant inundation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 26 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 5 claims and $60,264 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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 Parke County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And | Apr 19, 2011 |
| 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 | Jul 3, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
129 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 107 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Aug 25, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2019 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2018 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2015 | $1,500 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2015 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 8, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2013 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 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.
Flood · Aug 25, 2023. Two rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms moved through portions of central Indiana initially during the evening hours with a second round during the early overnight. The initial round brought isolated wind damage to areas around Knox county. Later into the overnight a second round of storms drifted southeast across the Indianapolis area causing additional damage. At times these thunderstorms moved very slow…
Flood · Jul 10, 2019. A couple bands of showers and thunderstorms developed across the northwest half of central Indiana during the late afternoon and evening of July 10th. Some locations saw multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms leading to flash flooding. Others saw some of the more intense storms which produced damaging winds.
Flash Flood · Apr 3, 2018. A low pressure system generated numerous thunderstorms across central Indiana on April 3rd. The first few rounds of thunderstorms produced heavy rain and flooding across the area, while the final round of thunderstorms brought damaging winds and a couple of tornadoes.
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 Parke 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.