149 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·3 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 Crawford 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 intense storms dominates the historical flood profile, accounting for 85 of the 100 recorded flood events in Crawford County over the last 30 years, with general floods making up the remaining 15. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a storm system on May 19, 2025 that produced up to 3 inches of rainfall and localized flash flooding, as well as an event on July 13, 2023 that caused water rescues and stranded vehicles due to flash flooding in Pittsburg.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located in high-risk Zone A have experienced the highest impact, logging 68 claims with an average payout of $22,575 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X have also faced significant risk, registering 39 claims with an average payout of $9,145 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X properties recorded 33 claims averaging $11,518 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Shaded Zone X and unknown zones account for fewer claims, with average payouts of $17,316 and $1,231 respectively.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, where historical claim frequency and payout amounts are highest, as well as properties in unshaded and standard Zone X areas that experience recurrent surface water accumulation during intense storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
39% of Crawford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
111 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 4 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 1994, with 30 claims and $434,169 paid.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Crawford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 25, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
100 since 1996: 85 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 5, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jun 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 29, 2025. Thunderstorms developed over far southeastern Kansas before moving into Missouri. As storm developed and strengthened over the same locations, localized flooding occurred with some large hail reported in the strongest storms.
Flash Flood · May 19, 2025. A strong storm system pushed into the area during the afternoon of May 19, 2025 before pushing into Missouri during the late afternoon and evening hours. This system produced quarter size hail, wind damage, and up to 3 inches of rainfall in southeast Kansas before continuing on to produce 8 tornadoes and widespread damaging winds in Missouri. The intense rainfall led to some localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2023. Storms developed over southeast Kansas ahead of an approaching cold front during the evening of the 12th and moved across far southeastern Kansas through the morning of the 13th. Sporadic wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph downed trees and power poles from Arcadia and Fort Scott in Kansas. Flash flooding was reported in Pittsburg, Kansas where water rescues and stranded vehicles were reported.
Flood · May 5, 2022. Thunderstorms produced between 4 and 6 inches of rainfall leading to flooding across southeastern Kansas.
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 Crawford 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.