150 flood insurance claims·$1.9M 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 Douglas 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 risk in Douglas County, Kansas, accounting for 59 of the 73 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 14 general flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a line of storms that produced damaging winds and flash flooding on July 17, 2025, and widespread rainfall of two to five inches with localized amounts up to ten inches that produced multiple instances of flash flooding on July 1, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 90 claims averaging a $16,208 payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X accounts for 29 claims with an average payout of $29,352 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Unshaded Zone X recorded 24 claims with an average payout of $9,240 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while shaded Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $8,708 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Three claims with unknown zones averaged a $2,064 payout with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A and Zone X, which experience the highest claim frequencies and significant average water depths during heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Douglas County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
118 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 1996, with 44 claims and $305,586 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Douglas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 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 Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight Line Winds | Mar 12, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Sep 1, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, And Flooding | Jan 4, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
73 since 1996: 59 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2025. A line of storms produced damaging winds and flash flooding as it moved across eastern Kansas early morning on July 17.
Flood · Jul 1, 2024. Widespread rainfall of two to five inches, with localized amounts of up to ten inches, produced multiple instances of flash flooding across east-central Kansas.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2023. Thunderstorms developed into a QLCS during the afternoon of July 14th and produced widespread wind damage across the area. Winds exceeded 70 mph at times.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2021. Flash flooding was the result of heavy rainfall in Douglas County during the morning hours of 6/30.
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 Douglas 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.