122 flood insurance claims·$4.1M 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 Jones 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.
Jones County experiences an even distribution of flood risk characterized by a historical mix of 26 standard floods and 26 flash floods over the last 30 years. Torrential rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding on May 26, 2022. Additionally, episodes of heavy rainfall dropping 5 to 15 inches over a ten-day period caused the Wapsipinicon River to rise above major flood stage in September 2018.
National Flood Insurance Program records show varying impacts across different zones. Zone A accounts for 65 claims with an average payout of $58,480 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Zone X accounts for 32 claims with an average payout of $18,445 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Unshaded Zone X records 12 claims averaging $15,337 with an average water depth of 41 inches, while shaded Zone X shows 9 claims averaging $39,048 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Zone Unknown represents 3 claims averaging $1,103 with an average water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and various designations of Zone X, as these areas have documented claim histories and recorded water depths during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Jones County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
86 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 17 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 35 claims and $658,523 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 Jones County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 21, 2013 |
| 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 Storm | Dec 10, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
52 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 4, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Sep 27, 2016 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2016 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2014 | — |
| Flood | May 31, 2013 | — |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 26, 2022. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms developed across all of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and far northeast Missouri on the afternoon of Thursday May 26, 2022. These showers and storms formed in response to an area of low pressure moving across eastern Missouri into central Illinois during the afternoon and evening. This activity slowly rotated around the low, allowing showers and storms to produce torr…
Flood · Sep 4, 2018. Episodes of heavy rainfall of about 5 to 15 inches over a 10 day period in much of northeast Iowa caused the Wapsipinicon River to rise above major flood stage from Independence to DeWitt, about two to seven days after the end of the heavy rain events. The extended duration between the forecast and actual major river flooding allowed preparations to preclude major damage downstream.
Flood · Sep 27, 2016. Significant record to near record heavy rainfall in North Central and Northeast Iowa from 21 to 23 September of 4 to over 10 plus inches caused major river flooding on many forecast points on the Iowa tributaries of the Wapsipinicon, Cedar, lower Iowa, and Maquoketa rivers. Then major river flooding occurred downstream on the Mississppi River from the Iowa River and Mississippi River convergence and south.
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2016. A disturbance interacting with a frontal system produced an area of severe thunderstorms with numerous damaging winds, some flash flooding and a few isolated, brief tornadoes.
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 Jones 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.