26 flood insurance claims·$486,469 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 Marion 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 from storms dominates Marion County, supported by 100 flood events and 37 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database. Heavy rainfall events are documented in recent narratives, including training storms that produced 3 to 6 inches of rain on July 31, 2024, and low pressure systems that brought up to 5 inches of rainfall on July 2, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located within Zone A have experienced the most severe impacts, accounting for 17 claims with an average payout of $25,280 and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $13,125 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, while 1 claim in an unknown zone averaged a $3,240 payout with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in Zone A, where historical claims show significantly higher average water depths and payout amounts compared to other zones.
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 19 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 10 claims and $305,524 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.
118 NOAA storm reports from Marion County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 17, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 10, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 23, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
137 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 100 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 31, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 15, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Oct 9, 2018 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Oct 9, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Oct 6, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2016 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 31, 2024. Storms lined up across central Iowa on the 850 mb moisture gradient early in the morning of July 31, producing up to quarter sized hail and gusts over 50 mph in isolated downbursts. Storms shifted into southeast Iowa through the morning and remained strong, producing hail and strong winds. As storms shifted southeast the orientation shifted to allow for training storms will heavy rain of 3-6 inches in some locatio…
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2024. Storms lined up across central Iowa on the 850 mb moisture gradient early in the morning of July 31, producing up to quarter sized hail and gusts over 50 mph in isolated downbursts. Storms shifted into southeast Iowa through the morning and remained strong, producing hail and strong winds. As storms shifted southeast the orientation shifted to allow for training storms will heavy rain of 3-6 inches in some locatio…
Flash Flood · Jul 2, 2024. An area of low pressure with an associated warm front tracked over northern Iowa along with another warm front that lifted into near western/southern Iowa during the morning hours, which resulted in moderate to heavy rainfall over portions of the state. Scattered showers and storms continued across much of Iowa throughout the day, with PWATS around 2-2.5 inches, a present LLJ and deeper warm cloud depths, leading…
Flood · Mar 15, 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…
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 Marion 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.