403 flood insurance claims·$3.2M paid·3 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 Harvey 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.
Harvey County is characterized by a mix of riverine flooding and heavy rainfall flash floods resulting from severe summer thunderstorms and stalled frontal boundaries. Over a thirty-year period, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 20 flood events resulting in one death, alongside 17 flash flood events. Recent activity includes widespread flooding on May 8, 2019, driven by heavy rainfall falling on already saturated ground, and flash flooding on June 25, 2021, produced by high-moisture airmasses generating high rainfall rates.
Federal Emergency Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of impacts occurring in high-risk areas. Properties located in FEMA Zone A experienced the vast majority of claims with 353 filings, averaging $10,282 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Additional claims occurred outside primary risk areas, including 18 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging $9,232 and 2 inches of water, 12 claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging $8,376 and 2 inches of water, 10 claims in Zone X averaging $27,042 and 2 inches of water, and 5 claims in Zone D averaging $2,590 and 1 inch of water.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A, where the frequency and water depth of historical claims are significantly higher than in any other zone.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Harvey County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
384 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 5 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 176 claims and $1.9M 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Harvey County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| Cottonwood Fire Complex | Mar 5, 2022 |
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 4, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Snowstorm | Feb 20, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 8, 2019 | $100 |
| Flood | Oct 9, 2018 | $200 |
| Flood | Oct 9, 2018 | $100 |
| Flood | Oct 8, 2018 | $100 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 18, 2023. During the afternoon of June 17th, 2023, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across the High Plains (eastern Colorado and the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles) and quickly progressed eastward through the late afternoon and evening hours. Storms entered portions of central and south-central Kansas around sunset and produced primarily damaging winds around 60 to 80 mph as they swept across the area. A co…
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2021. An extremely moist airmass was in place as storms erupted along a stationary front during the afternoon hours. Due to the high moisture content of the airmass, the storms were very efficient rainfall producers with some producing 3 to 4 inches of rain per hour. Marion County saw the most impactful flooding with numerous evacuations and water rescues taking place across the county. Southeast Kansas also saw serious…
Flash Flood · May 26, 2019. Clusters of thunderstorms with heavy rains caused further flash flooding in parts of South & Southeast Kansas in the morning on the 26th. Thunderstorms that had occurred the previous evening produced, on average, up to around 3 inches of rain. The renewed thunderstorms that occurred the following morning produced another 1 to 3 inches this morning.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2019. A prolonged period of severe thunderstorms that produced a grand slam of flash floods, large hail, damaging winds & even a couple tornadoes hit nearly all of the Wichita (ICT) County Warning Area (CWA) throughout the afternoon & night on the 24th. Of the severe thunderstorm modes, floods & flash floods proved to be, by far, the greatest threat to these areas. The flash flooding continued across primarily Southeast…
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 Harvey 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.