1 flood insurance claims·$9,184 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 Linn 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.
Flood risk in Linn County is characterized primarily by riverine floods and summer flash flooding, supported by 36 standard flood events and 18 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Historical records illustrate these recurring weather patterns. In April 2019, following a relatively wet month, another round of thunderstorms moved into the region, causing flooding on area roads. Earlier, in July 2017, training thunderstorms dropped 5 to 7 inches of rain over a roughly 3-hour period, resulting in extreme flash flooding along local creeks.
National Flood Insurance Program records show limited claims history, with a single recorded claim in Zone X resulting in an average payout of $9,184 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Property owners located near low-lying areas, creeks, and roadways prone to inundation during heavy rainfall should pay the closest attention to local flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1 NOAA storm reports from Linn County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 25, 2024 |
| 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 Storms And Flooding | Jul 8, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 25, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
54 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 36 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2008 | — |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2008 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 30, 2019. After a relatively wet month, another round of thunderstorms moved into the region, causing some flooding on area roads.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2017. On the evening of July 26, a line of thunderstorms formed roughly along the Interstate 70 corridor. The orientation of these storms were such that they trained over Kansas City and surrounding areas for several hours, causing some extreme flash flooding. Some of the heaviest rain hit some of the most vulnerable parts of the city, namely Indian Creek near the Kansas and Missouri state line. in this location between…
Flash Flood · Jul 2, 2015. Thunderstorms initially developed on the Missouri side of the Kansas City Metropolitan area. As the whole area of storms shifted south during the evening hours, storms became severe in east central Kansas producing damaging winds and flash flooding in Linn County.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2013. A weak boundary, combined with a warm and humid airmass, led to a severe thunderstorm, that produced damaging winds and flash flooding, across Linn County, during the late afternoon hours of May 31, 2013.
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 Linn 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.