86 flood insurance claims·$174,150 paid·2 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 Dickinson 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Dickinson County, Kansas, accounting for 37 events and one death alongside 17 general flood events over the last 30 years. NOAA storm data records multiple damaging instances, including a slow-moving storm complex that produced flash flooding across Dickinson, Ottawa, and Geary Counties on May 24, 2020. Subsequent severe weather brought heavy rain and flash flooding on June 2, 2024, followed by another severe event on June 28, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims are heavily concentrated in high-risk areas. Zone A properties account for the vast majority of claims with 75 filings, averaging $3,061 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X experienced fewer claims totaling 8, but recorded a higher average payout of $5,561 and an average water depth of 31 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, which represents the highest volume of historical flood claims, as well as properties in Zone X where recorded water depths during flooding have averaged significantly higher.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Dickinson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
77 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 8 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 61 claims and $121,782 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Dickinson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 2 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 Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Snowstorm | Feb 20, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow | Mar 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
54 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Aug 30, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2024. A supercell moved across parts of Lyon and Osage Counties on the evening of June 28. This storm produced three brief tornadoes, as well as flash flooding and a larger area of scattered 70-85 mph straight-line winds.
Flash Flood · Jun 2, 2024. Scattered severe storms developed in the early morning hours, producing heavy rain with flash flooding, damaging winds to 60 mph, and half dollar size hail.
Flash Flood · May 24, 2020. A very slow moving complex of storms developed in parts of central KS and produced flooding and flash flooding in Ottawa, Geary and Dickinson Counties during the late evening and overnight hours of 5/24 into 5/25.
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2019. Slow moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding across parts of Dickinson county overnight.
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 Dickinson 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.