208 flood insurance claims·$2.8M paid·5 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 Leavenworth 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 and general flooding occur with nearly equal frequency in Leavenworth County, driven by 71 flash flood events and 70 flood events over the last 30 years. Storm records document severe weather impacts, such as storms on May 27, 2021, that produced damaging winds, large hail, and minor flash flooding. Additionally, sub-severe thunderstorms on May 21, 2019, generated wake low winds that downed tree limbs, power lines, and power poles, followed by torrential rains that caused areas of flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims are not restricted to high-risk zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 136 claims, averaging an $18,352 payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties located in Zone X zones also experience claims: Zone X recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $10,274 and an average water depth of 15 inches; unshaded Zone X recorded 27 claims with an average payout of $7,304 and an average water depth of 2 inches; and shaded Zone X recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $20,585 and an average water depth of 21 inches. An additional 3 claims with an unknown zone designation averaged a $29,350 payout with an average water depth of 19 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, as well as properties located in various Zone X designations where historical claims and standing water depths demonstrate significant flood vulnerability.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Leavenworth County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
173 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 9 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 2005, with 30 claims and $803,325 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and Flooding, Hurricane Katrina Evacuation and Severe Storms and 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Leavenworth County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Oct 1, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Sep 1, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
141 since 1996: 71 flash floods and 70 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Aug 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2023. Heavy rain fell on May 31st leading to flash flooding in Miami and Leavenworth Counties.
Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2021. Heavy rain caused some flash flooding in and around Kansas City.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2021. On the morning of May 27 a line of storms moved through northeast Kansas, producing some damaging winds, along with some minor flash flooding. In the afternoon the clouds cleared out, and a second round of severe thunderstorms formed, this time bringing some large hail, along with damaging winds.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2019. Several thunderstorms, some severe, moved through portions of eastern Kansas bringing damaging winds and flash flooding.
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 Leavenworth 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.