294 flood insurance claims·$1.9M paid·7 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 Woodbury 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.
Woodbury County experiences a flood risk characterized by a near-even mix of general floods and flash floods, with 44 flood events and 39 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent hazards are exemplified by heavy rainfall events in June 2024, when multi-day totals between 5 and 10 inches produced major to record river flooding, extensive overland flooding, and severe impacts across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood claims span multiple zones, with the highest concentration occurring in Zone A, which accounts for 227 claims averaging $10,649 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Additional claims are distributed across unknown zones (33 claims, averaging $2,694 and 2 inches of water), unshaded Zone X (17 claims, averaging $9,908 and 1 inch of water), Zone X (14 claims, averaging $7,300 and 11 inches of water), and shaded Zone X (3 claims, averaging $1,380 with 0 inches of recorded water). Homeowners and property buyers in Zone A and Zone X—particularly those with properties near rivers, streams, or areas prone to overland flooding—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 Woodbury County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
247 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 3 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 1990, with 152 claims and $808,268 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.
23 NOAA storm reports from Woodbury County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Mar 19, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 16, 2024 |
| 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 |
| Flooding | May 25, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Snow | Feb 28, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
83 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 44 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 24, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $4.1M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 31, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 30, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2024. Very efficient thermal profiles with a deep warm cloud layer allowed thunderstorms to produce heavy rainfall during the mid-afternoon hours. Gauge reports from one to two inches of rain were common over the urban center of Sioux City, most of which fell within an hour.
Flash Flood · Jul 28, 2024. Storms developed along a weak surface boundary within a moisture-rich environment with weak mean-layer flow. Slow moving storms produced rainfall rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour, with amounts of 3.09 inches reported by a cooperative weather observer near Wakefield and personal automated gauges and radar estimates up to 4 inches over portions of the Sioux City metro area.
Flood · Jun 24, 2024. A multi-day significant heavy rainfall event from June 20-22 resulted in widespread rain totals between 5 and 10 inches across portions of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota. As rainfall reached area streams and rivers, major to record flooding was observed, devastating several towns and communities. Extensive overland flooding also resulted in significant impacts and damages. All rive…
Flood · Jun 23, 2024. A multi-day significant heavy rainfall event from June 20-22 resulted in widespread rain totals between 5 and 10 inches across portions of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota. As rainfall reached area streams and rivers, major to record flooding was observed, devastating several towns and communities. Extensive overland flooding also resulted in significant impacts and damages. All rive…
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 Woodbury 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.