2 flood insurance claims·$4,570 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, Kansas, supported by 15 flash flood events and 12 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events can be intense, such as the September 2025 event that brought upwards of 12 inches of rain to the county, and the June 2022 storm complexes that produced widespread flash flooding and damaging winds across central Kansas.
Historical National Flood Insurance Program records show minimal claim volume, consisting of one claim in Zone A with an average payout of $3,295 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, alongside one claim in an unknown zone with an average payout of $1,276 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located within Zone A or unmapped hazard areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk, particularly during heavy convective rainfall events capable of producing rapid flash flooding.
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 1 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Lincoln County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Ellsworth-lincoln-russell Fire Complex | Mar 4, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 22, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2022 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2022 | $100 |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 2, 2018 | $100 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 22, 2025. Two areas of storms developed during the evening hours and continued into the overnight in north central and south central Kansas. Strong and damaging winds were the main hazard with estimated wind gusts up to 75 mph. There was damage to trees and powerlines reported. A semi trailer was blown over on Interstate 70 as well. A few of the storms had hail from nickel to quarter size. These storms were efficient rainfa…
Flash Flood · Sep 8, 2025. Several hours of heavy rainfall impacted central Kansas with upwards of 12 inches reported in Lincon County. Several reports of flooding were relayed from Lincoln, Ellsworth, and Saline counties.
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2022. A complex of storms initially developed across central Kansas during the evening hours or June 5th, 2022. The storms initially produced damaging winds, flash flooding and large hail across central Kansas, before propagating to the south, producing damaging winds and flooding across south central Kansas during the late evening hours.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2021. Storms initially producing very heavy rains across central Kansas produced flooding for several locations. The next round of storms didn't produce quite as much rain, however, did spawn severe winds and hail.
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 Lincoln 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.