187 flood insurance claims·$2.3M 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 Porter 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.
Porter County experiences a dominant mix of riverine floods and flash floods driven by heavy rain and thunderstorms, alongside recurrent lakeshore and coastal flooding. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 30 flood events resulting in 2 deaths, 25 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, 5 lakeshore flood events, and 1 coastal flood event. Recent events include localized flooding from scattered thunderstorms on July 19, 2025, and July 26, 2025, as well as significant flooding on December 28, 2025, driven by heavy rain and thunderstorms that produced 2.74 inches of rainfall in Porter and 3.98 inches three miles east of Portage.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate claims span multiple zones, with high frequencies in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas. Zone A accounts for 83 claims with an average payout of $15,903 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Unshaded Zone X records 67 claims with an average payout of $18,610 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while standard Zone X records 22 claims averaging $24,050 with an average water depth of 16 inches. Homeowners in Zone A, unshaded Zone X, and standard Zone X should pay the most attention, given their higher claim volumes and significant recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
46% of Porter County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
155 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 5 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 29 claims and $762,924 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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Porter County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1990, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 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 4, 2003 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
61 since 1996: 25 flash floods, 30 river or area floods and 6 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 28, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2021 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 29, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jan 11, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jan 11, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 28, 2025. Periods of heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms produced flooding across parts of far northwest Indiana on December 28th. Storm total rainfall amounts included 3.98 inches three miles east of Portage; 3.51 inches in St. John; 3.33 inches one mile east of Schererville; 2.95 inches one mile south of Merrillville; 2.74 inches in Porter and 2.35 inches two miles north northwest of Portage.
Flood · Jul 26, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northwest Indiana during the morning and afternoon of July 26th producing localized flooding.
Flood · Jul 19, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms produced localized flooding in parts of northwest Indiana during the afternoon of July 19th.
Flood · Aug 25, 2021. Scattered thunderstorms moved across northwest Indiana on August 25th producing heavy rain and localized flooding.
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 Porter 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.