141 flood insurance claims·$4.0M paid·9 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 Lee 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.
Lee County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by standard riverine floods alongside frequent flash flooding driven by summer thunderstorms. Over the past 30 years, NOAA recorded 54 flood events and 35 flash flood events. Severe weather brings localized impacts, such as the storms on July 26, 2025, when widespread showers and thunderstorms dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain across southeast Iowa, producing flash flooding at several locations within the county.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for the highest volume of National Flood Insurance Program claims with 91 filings, averaging $34,587 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 14 claims with a higher average payout of $97,343 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 3 claims with an average water depth of 60 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A, as well as those in unshaded and shaded Zone X areas where heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding have resulted in significant historical insurance payouts and recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Lee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
108 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 13 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 41 claims and $1.4M 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.
34 NOAA storm reports from Lee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 24, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storm And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 17, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
89 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 54 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2025. Widespread showers and thunderstorms slowly moved across southeast Iowa on the morning of July 26th. These showers and storms produced widespread heavy rainfall of 2 to 4 inches. This produced flash flooding at several locations in Lee County.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2025. On July 11th, a line of severe thunderstorms moved across eastern Iowa and produced damaging straight-line winds, tornadoes and heavy rain. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches fell in a few hours across the Quad Cities, on top of heavy rain from the previous night and caused major flash flooding in Davenport. A Considerable Flash Flood warning was issued at 5:26 PM followed by a Flash Flood Emergency at 6:16 PM.
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2024. Slow moving thunderstorms developed during the morning hours on July 25th and produced heavy rainfall across Lee County, Iowa. There were reports of 3 to 4 inches of rain that led to flash flooding in Montrose.
Flash Flood · Aug 5, 2023. A significant rain event occurred late Friday into Saturday across extreme southeast Iowa. A slow moving mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) tracked over eastern Lee and Des Moines Counties and brought very heavy rain in a short amount of time. Rainfall amounts between 3 and 9 inches fell in less than 6 hours, which caused many stalled vehicles and several water rescues in Keokuk, Iowa. Other towns that received…
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 Lee 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.