19 flood insurance claims·$81,089 paid·8 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 Emmet 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 storms dominate the flood history of Emmet County, which recorded 71 flood events and 13 flash flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent regional impacts include heavy rainfall in June 2024 that saturated soils and caused flash flooding, followed by additional storms on June 21 and 22, 2024, that produced widespread 3 to 4 inch rainfall totals, road closures, and significant river flooding that persisted into July 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage claims have occurred across different zones. Zone A recorded 16 claims with an average payout of $5,558 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $8,374 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X Unshaded recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $11,576 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Properties located in Zone A and river-adjacent areas should pay the most attention to flood risk given the documented history of heavy rainfall and river overflow.
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 1 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 1983, with 3 claims and $1,533 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.
69 NOAA storm reports from Emmet County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 16, 2024 |
| 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 6, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 14, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
84 since 1996: 13 flash floods and 71 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 24, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | $10.0M |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | $200,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 24, 2024. There were several rounds of rainfall over the period starting around May 20 through around May 25. This is when there were two rounds of heavy rainfall along with severe thunderstorms including tornadoes and straight-line winds, detailed in respective severe entries for the month. 60-hour rainfall totals ending May 21 at 7pm were up to 4 to 6 inches over portions of Marshall, Tama, Poweshiek, and Jasper Counties.…
Flood · Jun 22, 2024. Heavy rain began late on June 21 and continued into the morning of June 22 as storms persisted along a stalled war front over northern Iowa. A widespread 3-4 inches of rain fell in northern Iowa, resulting in a few road closures across the area. This heavy rain also pushed rivers in northwest Iowa even higher, the catalyst for what would be in some cases catastrophic river flooding in the days to come.
Flood · Jun 21, 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 · Jul 1, 2024. Significant, and at times record, river flooding in northwest Iowa continued from June into July. Flooding resulted in massive sandbagging efforts, prolonged road closures and damages, and impacts to home and businesses. Continued heavy rain in early July kept some locations in flood through the middle of the month.
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 Emmet 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.