39 flood insurance claims·$231,008 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 Humboldt 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 seasonal high water events dominate Humboldt County, backed by 75 recorded flood events and 11 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall and saturated soils drove significant river flooding that continued into July 2024, following earlier events from successive rounds of heavy rain. A large storm system in March 2019 brought heavy rain and warm temperatures that rapidly melted a wet winter snowpack, which ran off into river systems over frozen ground and caused flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows impacts across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 28 claims averaging a payout of $11,284 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Additional claims occurred in Zone UNKNOWN with 6 claims averaging a $549 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, Zone X_SHADED with 4 claims averaging a $2,739 payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, and Zone X with 1 claim resulting in a $13,644 payout and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Properties near rivers and those located within Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, given the frequency of river flooding and the concentration of higher-payout claims in that zone.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Humboldt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
32 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 5 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 2007, with 17 claims and $169,662 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms 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.
71 NOAA storm reports from Humboldt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 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 Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
86 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 75 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $88,000 |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 24, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 24, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 16, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $200,000 |
| Flood | May 9, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 22, 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.
Flood · May 24, 2019. Continued heavy rain and high streamflows led to many rivers going back into flood in late May across central Iowa. Several crests occurred on the Des Moines River at Ottumwa. Many of these were due to planned releases from Lake Red Rock, with some of the water from heavy rainfall.
Flood · Apr 24, 2019. River levels remained high across much of the state through the latter half of April, so additional rainfall sent a few stations back into flood. The West Fork of the Des Moines River at Humboldt remained in flood through the end of April and into May. Flood periods earlier in the month are listed in separate episodes for both the Emmetsburg and Humboldt areas.
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 Humboldt 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.