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FEMA flood zones · Kansas

Gray County, Kansas Flood Zone Map

2 federal flood & hurricane disasters

Less than 1% of Gray County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Gray 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.

In their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Gray County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →

Federal disasters

14 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And WildfiresMar 14, 2025
Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And FloodingJun 26, 2024
Severe Winter StormJan 8, 2024
Severe Winter Storms And Straight-line WindsMar 17, 2022
Severe Storms And Straight Line WindsDec 15, 2021
Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and MudslidesApr 28, 2019
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And FloodingMay 4, 2015
Severe Winter StormsDec 6, 2007

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

13 since 1996: 8 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodJun 8, 2024—
FloodApr 16, 2016—
Flash FloodMay 24, 2015—
Flash FloodJun 28, 2014—
Flash FloodAug 12, 2013—
FloodJun 12, 2009—
FloodAug 23, 2007—
FloodSep 9, 2006—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flood · Apr 16, 2016. Severe thunderstorms developed along a dry line mixing into western Kansas.

Flash Flood · May 24, 2015. A strong short wave trough lifting out of the Rockies combined with an atmosphere that was recovering from earlier thunderstorms. There likely was mesoscale interactions with old outflow boundaries. Tornadoes formed along a warm front lifting north. Many storm spotters and chasers were unable to see the tornadoes due to the proximately to dense fog on the cold side of the front. Those that did observe the torn…

Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2014. Thunderstorms became severe and spread across the area during the night.

Flash Flood · Aug 12, 2013. Thunderstorms developed north of a frontal boundary as a short wave trough moved out of the high plains of Colorado. Heavy rainfall in the Dodge City area caused local flash flooding. There was also flooding back into Gray county.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Gray County

If a building in Gray 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.