15 flood insurance claims·$257,666 paid·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 Shelby 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1993, with 10 claims and $225,184 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Shelby County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 5, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
5 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2014 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2004 | — |
| Flood | Feb 18, 1997 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 1996 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2014. An unseasonably strong mid and upper level jet combined with high amounts of low level moisture and instability to create a volatile atmosphere across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa late in the night and into Monday morning. Thunderstorms developed on the nose of the low-level jet and quickly became severe. Isolated to scattered supercells moved across northeast Nebraska and western Iowa through late morning be…
Flood · Feb 18, 1997. Mild temperatures melted snowcover in a short period allowing for a sudden runoff into streams and rivers which were still intact with thicker than normal ice. The runoff into the streams and rivers was sufficient to break up the ice. Ice jams formed at many locations causing flooding. The more significant flooding occurred along the Boyer river and was aggravated by ice jams at Woodbine downstream to below Log…
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 1996. Heavy rains of 2 to 5 inches fell over much of northern Shelby County.
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 Shelby 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.