1 flood insurance claims·$0 paid·6 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 Henry 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 risk in Henry County, Iowa. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 17 flash flood events alongside 10 general flood events, which have resulted in one recorded death.
Severe weather events often develop rapidly from stalled weather boundaries and upper-level disturbances interacting with heavy seasonal rainfall. For example, an excessively wet spring led to tributary rivers remaining above major flood status in early June 2019. Later that summer, on July 20, 2017, a stalled boundary produced heavy rains, flash flooding, and damaging winds lasting well into the night. Similar heavy rains and isolated flash flooding occurred on July 11, 2015, following a weak warm front.
Federal Emergency Management Agency records show historical flood insurance claims concentrated in unknown zones, with a single claim averaging zero dollars in payout and zero inches of recorded water depth. Residents living near rivers and tributaries, as well as property owners in unmapped or unknown zones, should pay the closest attention to local flood risks during heavy summer convective events and prolonged wet spring seasons.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5 NOAA storm reports from Henry County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 3, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Aug 13, 2010 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2010 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 1, 2019. The excessively wet spring flooding season continued into early June, with several tributary rivers remaining above major flood status the first days of June, before falling.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2017. A stalled boundary combined with an upper disturbance to produce a large convective event started in the afternoon and lasting numerous hours producing very heavy rains, flash flooding, dozens of reports of damaging winds of 60 to over 70 mph, and some large hail reports lasting well into the night.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2015. A weak warm front sparked afternoon and evening thunderstorms with locally heavy rains and a couple of isolated flash flooding events in southeastern Iowa.
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2010. A line of showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of eastern Iowa and Illinois during the afternoon and evening of June 23. These storms produced rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches and strong winds of 60 to 80 mph. Temperatures were in upper 80s with some locations topping into the lower 90s. The storms also produced heavy rains which flooded some roads in Muscatine, Iowa. Quarter-sized hail in fell in Scott C…
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 Henry 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.