97 flood insurance claims·$245,801 paid·1 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 Ellis 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 and general flooding from thunderstorms dominate the flood risk profile, with NOAA records showing 27 flash flood events and 21 flood events over the last 30 years. These events are often driven by surface lows, dry lines, and complex storm systems moving out of the high plains, such as heavy rainfall recorded during storms in March 2021, May 2021, and August 2019.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate claims across multiple zones, with the highest claim counts concentrated in areas categorized as Zone UNKNOWN with 56 claims averaging $4,406 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, and Zone A with 31 claims averaging $3,470 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Properties in Zone X unshaded recorded 6 claims averaging $4,623 with an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X shaded recorded 4 claims averaging $8,241 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone UNKNOWN and Zone A, which account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims in the area.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Ellis County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
41 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 2 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 1984, with 39 claims and $101,211 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Ellis County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Straight-line Winds | Mar 17, 2022 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 2, 2016 |
| Snowstorm | Feb 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| 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.
48 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 26, 2021. A surface low with a dry line extending across much of the CWA triggering thunderstorms during the afternoon hours for northern counties with storms further south later in the evening. Severe hail reports were the main observed weather but there were also a few tornadoes observed.
Flood · Mar 14, 2021. Warm air advection in associated with a warm front as a short wave trough approached help to initiate a few severe thunderstorms. One storm along the surface boundary was able to become surface based long enough to produce a tornado, despite relatively cool surface air. Otherwise, there was heavy rainfall reported.
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2019. Thunderstorms moved south from northern Kansas and interacted with a surface boundary across the area.
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2019. An MCS moved out of the higher terrain of the high plains during the late evening and overnight into an unstable airmass.
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 Ellis 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.