4 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 Poweshiek 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 from riverine floods and flash floods dominates the historical record in Poweshiek County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 25 flood events and 11 flash flood events over the last 30 years.
Severe weather events have frequently produced significant heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding across the region. For example, multiple rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms dropped two to four inches of rainfall from a low-pressure system, resulting in flash flooding through the morning of May 21, 2024. Earlier, stationary frontal boundaries and high dew points fueled heavy rainfall and storms during events in September 2018 and October 2018.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located near rivers, streams, and low-lying areas prone to rapid accumulation from heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
29 NOAA storm reports from Poweshiek County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Severe Storms | Aug 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 23, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
36 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 21, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Oct 9, 2018 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Sep 5, 2018 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2018 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Sep 2, 2018 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2018 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 21, 2024. PLEASE NOTE, for tornadoes, please see separate Storm Data entry for May 21st. ||Multiple rounds of thunderstorms brought torrential rainfall, damaging winds, hail and destructive tornadoes to the state. These thunderstorms were the result of a low pressure system which lifted north into the area on the night of May 20th, 2024, producing slow moving storms that dropped 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. This resulted in f…
Flood · Oct 9, 2018. Tornadoes made an October appearance along with other strong storms and heavy rainfall as a number of conditions came together. A frontal boundary stalled out across Iowa, situated from southwest to northeast, roughly cutting the state in half. Dew points were on the high side given the time of the year, in the upper 60s to low 70s, yielding low lifted condensation levels. In addition, low level turning resulted i…
Flood · Sep 5, 2018. Wet conditions continued across the state with yet another round of moderate to heavy rainfall on top of already mostly saturated conditions. A shortwave moving through the upper level flow out of the southwest, a surface front situated to the west and northwest of the state, and strong 850 mb flow were the main contributors to showers and storms. ||Conditions were certainly conducive for heavy rainfall, includi…
Flash Flood · Sep 5, 2018. Wet conditions continued across the state with yet another round of moderate to heavy rainfall on top of already mostly saturated conditions. A shortwave moving through the upper level flow out of the southwest, a surface front situated to the west and northwest of the state, and strong 850 mb flow were the main contributors to showers and storms. ||Conditions were certainly conducive for heavy rainfall, includi…
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 Poweshiek 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.