7 flood insurance claims·$54,534 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 Ellsworth 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 Ellsworth County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 19 flash flood events alongside 14 general flood events.
Recent weather highlights the local impact of these storms. On May 19, 2024, a high precipitation supercell tracked east along I-70, producing brief tornadoes across northern Ellsworth County. Later, on September 8, 2025, several hours of heavy rainfall impacted central Kansas, generating reports of flooding across Ellsworth, Lincoln, and Saline counties.
Properties situated in FEMA Zone A should pay the most attention to these risks. Historical National Flood Insurance Program records for Zone A show 7 claims with an average payout of $9,089 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 3 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Ellsworth County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Ellsworth-lincoln-russell Fire Complex | Mar 4, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 13, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 14, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
33 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 8, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 19, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2022 | $100 |
| Flood | May 16, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Aug 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 8, 2025. Several hours of heavy rainfall impacted central Kansas with upwards of 12 inches reported in Lincon County. Several reports of flooding were relayed from Lincoln, Ellsworth, and Saline counties.
Flood · May 19, 2024. Around 2:30pm on Sunday May 19th, a high precipitation supercell developed near Hays along a warm front. This storm tracked east along I-70 producing a few brief tornadoes across Russell and northern Ellsworth county. As it progressed east, the wind and hail threat ramp-up as it moved into Saline County. The Salina Airport measured a 100 mph wind gust! There was also numerous reports of golf ball size hail acro…
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2022. A complex of storms initially developed across central Kansas during the evening hours or June 5th, 2022. The storms initially produced damaging winds, flash flooding and large hail across central Kansas, before propagating to the south, producing damaging winds and flooding across south central Kansas during the late evening hours.
Flood · May 16, 2021. Storms initially producing very heavy rains across central Kansas produced flooding for several locations. The next round of storms didn't produce quite as much rain, however, did spawn severe winds and hail.
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 Ellsworth 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.