375 flood insurance claims·$3.1M paid·11 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 Buchanan 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood history of Buchanan County, Iowa. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 60 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 28 general flood events. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall from severe thunderstorms that produced flash flooding north of Winthrop in July 2025.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A account for the vast majority of claims with 323 filings, averaging $9,174 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Meanwhile, properties designated as Zone X recorded 48 claims with an average payout of $12,224 and an average water depth of 23 inches. Three claims were filed in Zone UNKNOWN, averaging a $6,906 payout with an average water depth of 7 inches, and one claim in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded a $0 payout with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, while remaining aware that moderate-risk Zone X properties also experience significant flood claims and standing water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Buchanan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
324 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 26 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 1999, with 136 claims and $1.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes and 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.
30 NOAA storm reports from Buchanan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 6, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 19, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 14, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 21, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
88 since 1996: 60 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2025. Thunderstorms that develop late in the evening on July 22nd moved into Buchanan County around midnight and continue into the early morning hours. A warm and humid airmass led to heavy rain. The heavy rain led to flash flooding north of Winthrop in Buchanan County.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2025. On July 11th, a line of severe thunderstorms moved across eastern Iowa and produced damaging straight-line winds, tornadoes and heavy rain. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches fell in a few hours across the Quad Cities, on top of heavy rain from the previous night and caused major flash flooding in Davenport. A Considerable Flash Flood warning was issued at 5:26 PM followed by a Flash Flood Emergency at 6:16 PM.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2022. Several intense clusters of storms moved through eastern Iowa into Illinois. The morning cluster produced flash flooding. In the afternoon and evening, a cluster of intense thunderstorms moved through far eastern Iowa into west central and northwest Illinois the evening of June 25th, with torrential rainfall and wind damage along it's way.
Flash Flood · Aug 28, 2021. It rained very hard in northeast Iowa the morning of August 28th. Storms moved over the same locations for several hours, resulting in several inches of rain, and some flash flooding in portions of Buchanan County. The heavy rain near Independence and much of northeast Iowa produced flooding on the Wapsipinicon and Turkey Rivers, which was a unique situation since that area was in a severe drought at the time.
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 Buchanan 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.