29 flood insurance claims·$156,630 paid
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 Whitley 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 river flooding from severe summer thunderstorms equally dominate the flood history of Whitley County, Indiana, accounting for all recorded events in the NOAA database over the last 30 years.
Severe weather patterns regularly produce heavy rainfall across the area, such as a May 2022 event where slow-moving thunderstorms dropped 3 to nearly 5 inches of rain within a few hours in the Tri Lakes area, causing flash flooding. Another significant event occurred in July 2022, when 3 to 7 inches of rain fell across the county in a single morning.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend across multiple zones. Properties located in Zone A have experienced the highest frequency and severity, accounting for 15 claims with an average payout of $12,922 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Additional claims have occurred in Zone X and zones with unknown designations, which averaged payouts of $1,835 and $4,451 respectively, both also recording an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate professionals in designated high-risk flood zones and areas prone to intense convective rainfall should pay the closest attention to these risks.
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 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 1982, with 4 claims and $25,237 paid.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Whitley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Indiana flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1977.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 5, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 8, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 7, 2008 |
| Snow | Feb 12, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 1, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2023 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2022 | $300,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2022 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jul 5, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jun 15, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jun 13, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2023. Severe thunderstorms developed over far northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan and moved east. Discrete storms early produced very large hail and then congealed into a damaging wind gust threat toward eastern Indiana and northwest Ohio.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2022. A narrow area of slow moving, back building thunderstorms caused a swath of locally heavy rain from parts of Whitley county northeast into Steuben county. A small area in the Tri Lakes area of Whitley county received 3 to nearly 5 inches of rain in a few hours, resulting in flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2022. Thunderstorms developed in the afternoon and evening of July 5. Widespread wind damage occurred in an area from Steuben County through Allen County in Indiana.
Flood · Jul 5, 2022. Three to seven inches of rain fell in Whitley and Allen Counties, IN on the morning of July 5. There was some tree damage in the area as these thunderstorms moved through.
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 Whitley 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.