6 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 Pocahontas 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.
Standard riverine and general flooding dominate the flood risk profile in Pocahontas County, backed by 35 recorded flood events and 8 flash flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Historical events illustrate these recurring risks. In May 2023, convection along a warm front produced severe weather including multiple weak tornadoes and flash flooding. Similarly, heavy rain from consecutive storm rounds throughout the day on June 14, 2018, caused flash flooding across central Iowa. Widespread heavy rainfall also created significant agricultural impacts during June 2010 through crop inundation, delayed planting, and rotting.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties near agricultural lands, low-lying areas vulnerable to heavy seasonal rainfall, and locations susceptible to sudden flash flooding during intense summer storm systems.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
37 NOAA storm reports from Pocahontas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 6, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 14, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 9, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
43 since 1996: 8 flash floods and 35 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2018 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2008 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2007 | $75,000 |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2006 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2005 | $74,070 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 13, 2023. Convection percolated along a warm front across the area through the morning. By afternoon, storms re-strengthened as as daytime heating helped enhance instability. Despite good instability with MLCAPE over nearing 2000 J/kg, lapse rates were modest and speed shear was weak. Despite this, directional shear was good and when combined with instability for brief stretching, allowed for a number of weak and short-live…
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2018. After a very brief reprieve from multiple days of activity, another round of storms greeted large parts of central Iowa during the very early morning hours of the 14th, through the rest of the morning, and into the afternoon. Traditional severe weather in the form of hail and damaging winds were sporadic, while heavy rain and flash flooding was the main player. The hail and wind reports were low end severe with ge…
Flood · Jun 12, 2010. Heavy rainfall during the month of June caused considerable crop losses across the state. Crop damage was done through a combination of inundation flooding and losses due to crops not being able to be planted or rotting in the ground. It is not possible to get a clear breakdown of the percent of damage that can be attributed to each cause. The damage here is not related to the river flooding. Those flooding ev…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2008. An unseasonably strong storm system aloft was located over the northern Rockies. This produced a very strong northward push of moisture into Iowa. After the initial convection from the morning moved out of the area, some clearing spread into the southwest, west central, and parts of central Iowa. The atmosphere became very unstable with lifted indices falling to between -5 and -8 C. MUCAPE increased to around…
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 Pocahontas 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.