14 flood insurance claims·$126,927 paid·7 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 Audubon County, Iowa. 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.
General flooding from sustained weather systems and river overflow dominates the historical flood profile of Audubon County, with 23 recorded flood events compared to 11 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Notable historical events include a widespread flood in March 2019 driven by a deep snowpack and frozen soils, as well as heavy rainfall events that triggered flash flooding, such as those in August 2017, June 2013, and May 2012.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in high-risk Zone A face the most significant impacts, accounting for the majority of claims with an average payout of $14,998 and an average recorded water depth of 29 inches. While fewer claims originate from Zone X, Zone X shaded, and Zone X unshaded, payouts in those areas have averaged between $2,574 and $16,680. Homeowners and real estate professionals near designated flood zones and rivers should pay the closest attention to these risks, particularly given the potential for significant water accumulation during major melt and heavy precipitation events.
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 22 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 2004, with 6 claims and $94,314 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Audubon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 21, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 23 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 15, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2013 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2012 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Apr 25, 2007 | $250,000 |
| Flood | May 6, 2007 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2007 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 15, 2019. Reports from the 13h through the 19th in this entry. ||A relatively deep and widespread snowpack existed across the region during early to mid March. Many areas in central and northern Iowa had around a foot to two feet of snow on the ground, along with many areas in upstream river basins in Minnesota and the Dakotas having similar or deeper snowpacks on the ground. Additionally, with the below normal temperatures…
Flash Flood · Aug 21, 2017. With the help of a couple weak boundaries in the area, storms initiated on the nose of the low level jet and generally remained over the same areas overnight. The primary result of the storms was heavy rainfall, though a few initial storms were able to produce damaging winds and severe hail within 2000+ J/kg CAPE and borderline effective bulk shear around 30 kts. Other than the few initial severe storm reports, t…
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2013. The outflow boundary from the previous night's convection was draped across southern Iowa east to west. As the low level jet increased to 30 kts during the evening, thunderstorms broke out north of the boundary and moved across central and southern Iowa. The atmosphere was unstable with 2000 to 3000 J/kg of elevated CAPE. There was 1000 J/kg of downdraft CAPE and 600 J/lg in the -10 to -30 C layer of the atmosp…
Flash Flood · May 6, 2012. A cold front stretched from western Minnesota, across southeast South Dakota, into Nebraska during the evening of the 5th. The front moved slowly southeast into Iowa during the overnight hours. The airmass was very unstable in advance of the front with lifted indices of -3 to -6 and elevated CAPE of 2000 to 3000 J/kg. A strong low level jet of 50 kts developed by the late evening hours with a broad area of deep…
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 Audubon 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.