110 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·5 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 Switzerland 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 and general riverine flooding driven by heavy rainfall and slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominate Switzerland County. Over the last thirty years, NOAA records show 31 flash flood events and 25 general flood events, resulting in one recorded fatality.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. In February 2022, rainfall totals of 1.5 to 2.5 inches from an advancing low-pressure system produced widespread flooding across the region. Later that year, in September 2022, slow-moving showers and thunderstorms developed in a warm and humid airmass, causing both flash flooding and general flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 59 claims with an average water depth of 5 inches and an average payout of $16,797. Zone X records 20 claims with an average water depth of 6 inches and an average payout of $30,137, while Zone X shaded lists 10 claims averaging 6 inches of water depth and a $22,029 payout. Zone X unshaded records 2 claims with an average depth of 4 inches and a $4,230 payout, and unknown zones account for 19 claims averaging 2 inches of water depth with a $1,293 payout. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X designations, where historical claims indicate deeper average floodwaters and higher financial losses.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Switzerland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
71 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 4 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 1997, with 45 claims and $868,561 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 Switzerland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 5 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 And Flooding | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 30, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 31 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 6, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 18, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 9, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2022 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | $18.0M |
| Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 6, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms caused localized flooding during the afternoon hours.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2022. Showers and thunderstorms developed across the Ohio Valley as an upper level disturbance moved through the region.
Flood · Feb 18, 2022. Rain overspread the region through the day ahead of a low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley. Rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 2.5 inches produced widespread flooding.
Flood · Aug 9, 2022. Scattered showers and thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall during the evening hours.
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 Switzerland 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.