42 flood insurance claims·$365,296 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 Jackson 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 overflow along the Mississippi and regional tributaries, combined with flash flooding from severe summer storms, defines the flood risk in Jackson County, where the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 26 flood events and 20 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include major flooding along the mainstem Mississippi in April 2023, driven by record upper-midwest winter snowfall, frozen ground, and rapid April snowmelt that affected roads, businesses, and homes. Additionally, spring flooding occurred across eastern Iowa in March 2019 due to snowmelt, ice jams, saturated soils, and heavy rainfall that caused moderate to major crests on regional tributary rivers like the Maquoketa and Wapsipinicon.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims occurring across multiple zones, including 20 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $15,565 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, and 16 claims in Zone A with an average payout of $8,898 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties located near rivers and streams, as well as homes situated within mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas and moderate-risk zones, should pay the closest attention to these risks.
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 6 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 2001, with 6 claims and $66,370 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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
21 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Flooding | Apr 24, 2023 |
| Severe Storms | Aug 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 5, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Oct 10, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2025. During the evening of July 10th, a line of thunderstorms developed and moved across eastern Iowa. These storms produced isolated large hail and damaging wind gusts in Johnson and Clinton Counties. Based on a video, an EF-U tornado occurred in Jackson county. These storms also produced heavy rain, mainly along and north of interstate 80. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4.50 inches were reported across the area. This ra…
Flood · Jul 5, 2024. Rain that fell during the month of June across Minnesota and Wisconsin caused rises on the Mississippi River along the Iowa and Illinois border. Additionally, heavy rain that fell locally in July helped to prolong the crest and delay the river falling below flood stage, especially south of the Wapsipinicon, Rock, and Iowa Rivers.
Flood · Apr 25, 2023. Significant flooding occurred on the mainstem Mississippi largely due to the record snowfall this winter in Minnesota and Wisconsin, frozen ground, rapid snowmelt during the middle of April, and saturated soils. Major flooding was observed at all sites along the Mississippi north of Keokuk Iowa and most sites saw one of their top 10 crests on record.|This flooding had numerous impacts, with many roads, businesses…
Flood · Apr 27, 2019. The Mississippi River remained high through the month of April due to a combination of snow melt and several rounds of heavy rain. Rain in the second half of the month caused the Mississippi River to rise back above major flood stage during the last week of April. The major flooding would continue into May.
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 Jackson 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.