55 flood insurance claims·$151,420 paid·1 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 Steuben 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.
10% of Steuben County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
29 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 2 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 1996, with 13 claims and $20,313 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 Steuben County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Snow | Feb 12, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Winter Storm 12/23/98 | Jan 1, 1999 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 1996 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Dec 28, 1990 |
| Snowstorms | Feb 2, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
9 since 1996: 3 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 16, 2009 | $250,000 |
| Flood | Mar 10, 2009 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2008 | — |
| Flood | Jul 21, 2001 | $9,000 |
| Flood | Jul 21, 1998 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 1997 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 1996 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 1996 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 16, 2009. A warm front was located across central Indiana during the early evening hours. An area of convection moved in from Illinois along the front and weakened below severe levels. However, the complex began to expand and become a proficient rain producer with several areas seeing flooding rains averaging between 1.5 and 3 inches, with some higher amounts.
Flood · Mar 10, 2009. Several systems moved across the area, bringing with them not only some severe weather in spots, but areas of flooding as well. Rainfall amounts through this period averaged between two and four inches in many locations with some areas seeing upwards of six inches. Numerous counties reported high water on roads, with several rivers and lakes going well out of their banks.
Flood · Feb 6, 2008. A snowpack of one to three inches rapidly melted as warm air arrive in the region. This snowmelt, combined with a partially frozen, very moist ground and rainfall from two to locally over 3 inches, resulted in an increase in low land and river flooding running along and south of a Knox to north of Millersburg line. At the onset, some flash flooding occurred in areas experiencing rainfall rates of one-half to one i…
Flash Flood · Aug 20, 1996. Heavy rains of 3.5 inches fell within a 6 hour period on the evening of August 20 producing widespread flooding of roads and of low lying areas in Central and Southern Steuben County. Two roads were washed out by the flash flooding, County Road 800 South west of Hamilton, Indiana and County Road 700 South between County Road 600 East and County Road 700 East. Several vehicle received water damage due to the 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 Steuben 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.