7 flood insurance claims·$98,909 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 Madison 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.
Flooding in Madison County is dominated by standard flood events over flash floods, with 34 recorded flood events compared to 21 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent historical events include widespread flooding in March 2019, driven by a deep regional snowpack of one to two feet, upstream snowpacks in Minnesota and the Dakotas, and frozen soils resulting from below-normal temperatures. Additionally, a flash flood occurred on July 20, 2025, caused by slow-tracking thunderstorms along an east-west boundary.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates varying impacts across zones. Zone A accounts for 5 claims with an average payout of $2,757 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X records 1 claim with an average payout of $87,882 and an average recorded water depth of 98 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED records 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Property owners and real estate agents in Madison County—particularly those situated in Zone X who face high-severity, deep-water claims—should pay close attention to these historical flood patterns and zone designations.
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 25 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 2014, with 1 claims and $87,882 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
46 NOAA storm reports from Madison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 10, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Jun 13, 1998 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
55 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 34 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2025 | $200,000 |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2016 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jul 29, 2015 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2015 | $150,000 |
| Flood | Sep 10, 2014 | $250,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2025. A moist and unstable environment on the southern side of an east-west oriented boundary brought thunderstorms to areas along and south of Interstate 80 in Iowa during the late evening of July 19th, 2025 and morning of July 20th, 2025. Despite 30 to 40 kts of shear, storms generally remained sub-severe as they tracked southward through Iowa. However, upon reaching the southern portions of the state, the storms made…
Flood · Mar 14, 2019. Reports from the 13h through the 19th in this entry. ||A relatively deep and widespread snowpack existed across the region during early to mid March. Many areas in central and northern Iowa had around a foot to two feet of snow on the ground, along with many areas in upstream river basins in Minnesota and the Dakotas having similar or deeper snowpacks on the ground. Additionally, with the below normal temperatures…
Flood · Mar 13, 2019. Reports from the 13h through the 19th in this entry. ||A relatively deep and widespread snowpack existed across the region during early to mid March. Many areas in central and northern Iowa had around a foot to two feet of snow on the ground, along with many areas in upstream river basins in Minnesota and the Dakotas having similar or deeper snowpacks on the ground. Additionally, with the below normal temperatures…
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2016. A complex of storms worked their way across Nebraska overnight on the 18th into the 19th, eventually making their way into Iowa. As those elevated storms approached the central third of Iowa, the linear storms began to backbuild and with increasing convection behind them in association with ongoing warm air advection. Through the morning hours ample lightning was associated with the storms along with heavy rainfa…
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 Madison 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.