1 flood insurance claims·$25,000 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 Elk 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 severe weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Elk County, Kansas, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all recorded flood incidents over the past 30 years with 24 flash flood events compared to 13 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates these recurring hazards. On May 15, 2020, severe storms produced widespread flooding and flash flooding alongside damaging winds that resulted in a fatal roadway collision. More recently, volatile weather on April 27, 2024, brought numerous rotating storms and tornadoes to southeast Kansas, while subsequent storms on May 6, 2024, and May 16, 2024, brought heavy rain and wind threats to the region.
Federal insurance claims data shows limited historical payouts in mapped high-risk areas, featuring a single claim in Zone A with an average payout of $25,000 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated Zone A flood zones, where rising waters from intense convective storms pose the primary threat.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7 NOAA storm reports from Elk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 25, 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.
37 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 6, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 27, 2024. On Saturday April 27th, there was volatile severe weather across Kansas and Oklahoma. An abundance of moisture and increasing shear through the day resulted in numerous rotating storms which produced several tornadoes across the Flint Hills into southeast Kansas. The strongest tornado was an EF-2 which occurred in Cowley County which did damage to a few outbuildings. Luckily there were no injuries or fatalities re…
Flood · May 16, 2024. A cluster of supercells developed across portions of Harper and Cowley counties during the afternoon of May 15th and quickly began producing large hail and damaging winds. This cluster of storms expanded north and eastward continuing to produce quarter to two inch sized hail across south central and southeast Kansas. Meanwhile, a second cluster of storms developed across northwest Oklahoma and progressed into sout…
Flood · May 6, 2024. A dryline and Pacific cold front moved into the region on Monday May 6th, and with abundant moisture and instability already in place, storms erupted by the early afternoon hours across west-central Kansas. As storms tracked across central Kansas they produced hail up to slightly larger than baseballs! Storms became more numerous over southeast Kansas after sunset with wind and heavy rain becoming the main threats…
Flash Flood · May 15, 2020. Severe storms dropped lots of hail, produced sporadic wind damage, and also caused widespread flooding and areas of flash flooding on May 15th, 2020. Hail sized remained below 1.5 inches and the winds were between 60 and 70 mph. Unfortunately, a tree was blown across a roadway and an individual did not see the tree and crashed into it and lost his life.
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 Elk 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.