1,472 flood insurance claims·$25.7M paid·9 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 Black Hawk 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.
Flooding in Black Hawk County is dominated by river floods, with 158 recorded events compared to 44 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include severe weather and torrential rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms in July 2025, as well as multiple rounds of heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms between May 20 and May 25, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties within Zone A have experienced the highest volume of claims at 1,200, with an average payout of $22,187 and an average recorded water depth of 22 inches. Properties categorized under Zone X recorded an average payout of $32,461 with an average water depth of 9 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded an average payout of $26,964 with an average water depth of 21 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded an average payout of $15,379 with an average water depth of 26 inches. Unknown zones recorded 132 claims with an average payout of $1,840 and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of historical insurance claims in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Black Hawk County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,264 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 20 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 2008, with 416 claims and $16.0M 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.
157 NOAA storm reports from Black Hawk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storm | Jul 10, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 23, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
202 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 158 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 25, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 24, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 11, 2025. The atmosphere on July 11, 2025, was primed for heavy rainfall, featuring a slow-moving frontal boundary that tapped into a corridor of abundant moisture to its south. This boundary, combined with strong instability, shear oriented along the boundary, and lift from an approaching upper-level disturbance, created an environment highly favorable for slow-moving, training thunderstorms capable of producing extremely…
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2025. The atmosphere on July 11, 2025, was primed for heavy rainfall, featuring a slow-moving frontal boundary that tapped into a corridor of abundant moisture to its south. This boundary, combined with strong instability, shear oriented along the boundary, and lift from an approaching upper-level disturbance, created an environment highly favorable for slow-moving, training thunderstorms capable of producing extremely…
Flood · Jun 25, 2024. Heavy rain fell over portions of northern Iowa, especially northwestern Iowa and bordering states later on June 20 through early on June 21. This rainfall caused flash flooding in portions of northwest Iowa and also aided in saturating the soil. As another round of heavy rain fell later on June 21 into the night and morning of June 22, this rainfall led to renewed flash flooding. This rainfall made its way into st…
Flood · Jun 24, 2024. Heavy rain fell over portions of northern Iowa, especially northwestern Iowa and bordering states later on June 20 through early on June 21. This rainfall caused flash flooding in portions of northwest Iowa and also aided in saturating the soil. As another round of heavy rain fell later on June 21 into the night and morning of June 22, this rainfall led to renewed flash flooding. This rainfall made its way into st…
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 Black Hawk 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.