119 flood insurance claims·$2.3M 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 Wapello 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 Wapello County is dominated by standard river floods, with 82 recorded flood events compared to 37 flash flood events over the last 30 years.
Historical events illustrate these risks. In March 2019, a combination of above-average winter snowpack, heavy rain, and warm temperatures caused rapid snowmelt on frozen ground, leading to widespread runoff and flooding. An ice jam on the Des Moines River in Ottumwa caused flash flooding where water rapidly rose several feet, flooding several cars and campers. In June 2021, deep Gulf moisture and a northward-moving warm front resulted in training storms that dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain in a few hours, with one location receiving over 7 inches.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows impacts across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 78 claims with an average payout of $20,407 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Zone X accounts for 27 claims averaging $31,637 with an average depth of 15 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X recorded 7 claims averaging $22,760 with an average depth of 21 inches, while unknown zones recorded 7 claims averaging $19,734 with an average depth of 53 inches. Property owners in Zone A and Zone X, as well as those with unrecorded or unknown base flood elevations, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Wapello County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
85 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
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 2010, with 41 claims and $602,057 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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.
94 NOAA storm reports from Wapello County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2013 |
| 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 Storms And Flooding | Aug 17, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 23, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
119 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 82 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flood | May 25, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | May 22, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | May 18, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 17, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2021. Deep Gulf moisture fed into the state with the LLJ pushing a warm front north into southern Iowa through the late evening. Storms motion was generally parallel to the boundary, resulting in training of storms across southern Iowa and heavy rain. Many locations in southern Iowa received 3 to 6 inches of rain in a few hours with one location reporting over 7 inches of rain.
Flood · Apr 30, 2019. Additional rainfall towards the latter half of April caused the Des Moines River at Ottumwa to go into flood for a few days.
Flood · Apr 29, 2019. Additional rainfall towards the latter half of April caused the Des Moines River at Ottumwa to go into flood for a few days.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2019. The hits just kept on rolling, with yet another pair of rounds of strong to severe storms, heavy rainfall, and flooding. Through much of the end of May, the synoptic setup across the region remained relatively unchanged, including this event. Upper level flow continued to be out of the SW, precipitable water values remained in excess of 1.5 inches, and a relatively stationary boundary remained over the area. In ad…
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 Wapello 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.