212 flood insurance claims·$3.1M paid·14 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 Clayton 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.
River flooding and flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate Clayton County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 149 floods and 36 flash floods over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a slow-moving cluster of storms on August 10, 2025, that caused a local county road washout, and heavy June rainfall that caused widespread river flooding along the Mississippi River, Cedar River, and other northeast Iowa basins between June 20 and July, with the Mississippi River mainstem persisting into July.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows impacts across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 181 claims averaging a $17,613 payout and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Zone X accounts for 19 claims with an average $30,769 payout and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 3 claims with an average $49,205 payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 7 claims averaging $4,775 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 2 claims averaging $637 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Properties near rivers and streams, as well as property owners in mapped high-risk Zone A and moderate-to-low-risk Zone X areas, should pay the closest attention to flood risk given the documented historical payouts and water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Clayton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
191 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 14 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 37 claims and $1.2M 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.
75 NOAA storm reports from Clayton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 14 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 24, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 19, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Aug 23, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 21, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
185 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 149 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 24, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 27, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 16, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 19, 2025. Heavy rain throughout the middle of August contributed to rises along many area rivers in northeast Iowa. This included minor to moderate flooding along portions of the Little Cedar and Cedar Rivers, as well as the Upper Iowa and Turkey Rivers.
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2025. During the evening hours on August 10th, a slow moving cluster of storms moved into Clayton County and corresponding heavy rain resulted in a local county road becoming washed out. These storms moved into Grant County in Wisconsin where they caused additional flooding.
Flood · Jun 26, 2024. Well above average rainfall throughout June in conjunction with late-month heavy rainfall contributed to additional rises into flood stage along the Mississippi River. River gauges at both Guttenberg and Lansing reached minor flood stage before the end of the month and observed rising river levels into July.
Flood · Jun 24, 2024. Above normal rainfall over the course of June, combined with a robust rainfall event between June 20th and 22nd, led to widespread river flooding across portions of northeast Iowa. Rainfall amounts upwards of 5 inches between the 20th and 22nd allowed the Mississippi River, Cedar River and many other river basins in northeast Iowa to enter flood stage towards the end of June. Flooding along the Mississippi River m…
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 Clayton 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.