31 flood insurance claims·$226,670 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 Geary 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 Geary County, accounting for 32 out of 38 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 6 general flood events. Severe weather patterns drive this activity, such as a slow-moving storm complex that produced flooding and flash flooding across Geary, Ottawa, and Dickinson Counties during the late evening and overnight hours of May 24 into May 25, 2020. Severe storms also caused flash flooding on June 28, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend across different zones. Zone A claims total 14, with an average payout of $15,389 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X accounts for 14 claims with an average payout of $6,585 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_SHADED records 3 claims averaging a $1,246 payout with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A areas as well as properties in Zone X, where claims data show that localized flooding has caused structural impacts and financial losses.
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 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 1993, with 14 claims and $175,906 paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding.
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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Geary County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
38 since 1996: 32 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2012 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2024. A supercell moved across parts of Lyon and Osage Counties on the evening of June 28. This storm produced three brief tornadoes, as well as flash flooding and a larger area of scattered 70-85 mph straight-line winds.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2021. Multiple rounds of rain produced flooding in parts of eastern Kansas on 5/16.
Flash Flood · May 24, 2020. A very slow moving complex of storms developed in parts of central KS and produced flooding and flash flooding in Ottawa, Geary and Dickinson Counties during the late evening and overnight hours of 5/24 into 5/25.
Flash Flood · Apr 26, 2016. Severe thunderstorms developed between 3 and 4pm on April 26th along an old outflow boundary and moved north northeast across northeast Kansas. The storms produced at least 2 brief weak tornadoes before 6pm however the storms thereafter become more widespread and continued to move across the same areas producing torrential flooding rains. Some areas received between 5 and 6 inches of rainfall from the storms ove…
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 Geary 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.