55 flood insurance claims·$142,660 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 Ford 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 Ford County, Kansas, accounting for 41 events compared to 18 general flood events over the last 30 years. NOAA storm event records document significant activity driven by weather systems, such as a stalled and stationary front in May 2019 and an upper-level trough that produced severe storms, hail, and high winds in August 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple flood zones. Zone A accounts for 20 claims with an average payout of $2,248 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Shaded Zone X records 18 claims averaging $3536 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while unshaded Zone X has 7 claims averaging $5,514 with an average water depth of 0 inches. Standard Zone X properties recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $13,764 and an average water depth of 1 inch. An additional 3 claims are recorded in unknown zones with an average payout of $0 and 0 inches of water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in designated Zone A and shaded Zone X, where claim volumes are highest and average water depths reach 2 inches, as well as properties in unshaded and standard Zone X areas where lower claim frequencies have resulted in higher average payouts per incident.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
56% of Ford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
45 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 1997, with 14 claims and $72,475 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Ford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Straight-line Winds | Mar 17, 2022 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Ford County Fire Complex | Mar 4, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 13, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
59 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 18 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Aug 14, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 3, 2025. An upper-level trough moved over western Kansas early in the morning. Correlating with a PVU maximum and left exit region of the jet aloft, plenty of dynamical support was present for strong storms to develop producing all hazards. This included a weak and brief tornado, 4 inch hail, and 85 mph winds. This manifested in a couple supercells and a small bowing MCS moving southward across SW Kansas.
Flash Flood · May 23, 2019. A stalled and stationary front was the focus for thunderstorm developed during the late afternoon and evening.
Flash Flood · Aug 19, 2018. A weak surface boundary was the focus for thunderstorm development as a short wave trough approached to enhance the lift of the unstable atmosphere.
Flood · Aug 14, 2018. An upper level shortwave trough produced enough lift on a deep layered unstable airmass to produce numerous thunderstorms that eventually produced widespread heavy rainfall.
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 Ford 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.