507 flood insurance claims·$12.5M paid·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 Butler County, Kansas. 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.
Flash flooding from slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk in Butler County, Kansas. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 86 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 54 general flood events resulting in 1 death. Severe weather events, such as slow-moving thunderstorms that produced 3 to 6 inches of rainfall between May 31 and June 1, 2022, caused widespread flooding. Additionally, training thunderstorms on June 3, 2025, produced significant flash flooding across Butler and Sedgwick counties, while a complex of severe thunderstorms impacted the area on June 14, 2025.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of historical insurance claims with 374 filed, an average payout of $25,415, and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X zones also warrant close review, as 29 claims recorded an average water depth of 24 inches and an average payout of $118,767.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Butler County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
418 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 6 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 1979, with 134 claims and $1.6M 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.
42 NOAA storm reports from Butler County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 3, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 8, 2024 |
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
140 since 1996: 86 flash floods and 54 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2025 | $2.0M |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 5, 2022 | $100 |
| Flood | May 4, 2022 | $100 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2020 | $100 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 14, 2025. A complex of severe thunderstorms developed during the very early morning hours of June 14th across northwest Kansas and raced across the state. These storms impacted portions of central and south-central Kansas with several reported of damaging winds.
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2025. Thunderstorms developed across south-central Kansas during the morning hours of June 3rd and slowly moved to the northeast. Additional rounds of thunderstorms developed and trained across portions of south-central and southeast Kansas. Numerous reports of flash-flooding were observed across the area with significant flooding across Sedgwick and Butler counties.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2022. An extremely unstable airmass was in place across southern Kansas on May 31st as storms erupted along a stationary front from western Oklahoma into southern Kansas. Storms quickly became severe producing very large hail along with a couple brief tornadoes. In addition, they also produced very heavy rain that caused flash flooding along with subsequent river flooding.
Flood · May 5, 2022. Rich gulf moisture streamed north of a slow moving low pressure for the afternoon and overnight hours of May 4th into the early morning of May 5th, 2022. Heavy rainfall impacted a large portions of southern Kansas, with some flooding reported. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 5 inches were common.
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 Butler 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.