3 flood insurance claims·$50,520 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 Union 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.
Union County experiences a mix of standard river flooding and flash flooding, driven by a total of 27 flood events and 22 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years.
Severe weather patterns regularly produce heavy rainfall across the region, such as a low-pressure system in March 2020 that brought locally heavy rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches, leading to flash flooding. Additional heavy rain events occurred in June 2021 and July 2024 as showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of low-pressure and upper-level systems moving through the Ohio Valley.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in high-risk Zone A require particular attention. Zone A has logged historical claims averaging 7 inches of recorded water depth, with average payouts of $16,840. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should closely monitor properties in these designated zones, as well as locations vulnerable to sudden flash flooding from severe summer and spring thunderstorms.
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 7 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.
15 federal disaster declarations since 1991, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 30, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 1, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 4, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
49 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 27 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 3, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 20, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 7, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 7, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Dec 31, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2024. An upper level disturbance moving southeast across the region produced showers and thunderstorms during the evening hours.
Flood · Mar 3, 2023. Showers and scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours ahead of a strong low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Jun 3, 2021. Showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours across the Ohio Valley ahead of an upper level low pressure system moving through the region.
Flash Flood · Mar 20, 2020. Showers and thunderstorms developed through the early morning hours as a low pressure system moved through the Ohio Valley. Some of the storms produced locally heavy rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches.
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 Union 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.