64 flood insurance claims·$969,985 paid·4 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 Lyon 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 Lyon County, Kansas, accounting for 61 events and 1 death over the last 30 years alongside 27 general flood events. Recent incidents illustrate this risk, such as June and August 2024, when slow-moving thunderstorms dropped 2 to 6 inches of rain across east central Kansas, causing street flooding, water rescues, and flash flooding in the Emporia area, as well as road closures across Lyon and Anderson counties.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A face the highest frequency of impacts, with 39 claims averaging a payout of $19,636 and an average recorded water depth of 22 inches. However, properties outside designated high-risk areas also sustain damage. Notably, unshaded Zone X properties recorded 10 claims with a higher average payout of $45,581 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A due to frequent inundation and deeper average water levels, while recognizing that moderate- and low-risk zones still experience significant, costly flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
26% of Lyon County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
53 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 15 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 1998, with 18 claims and $531,298 paid, the year of Flooding 10/31/98.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Lyon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 3, 2025 |
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
88 since 1996: 61 flash floods and 27 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2025. On 6/3, slow moving front resulted in several rounds of thunderstorms across northeast Kansas. This resulted in rainfall amounts of 2 to 6 inches and a few instances of water rescues and street flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 13, 2024. Multiple, slow moving storms trained across portions of east central Kansas during the morning hours, resulting in the highest rainfall amounts from 4 to 6 inches. This caused flash flooding in the Emporia area.
Flood · Jun 9, 2024. A line of training storms over east central Kansas during the early morning hours on the 9th resulted in 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. Several road closures were reported in Lyon and Anderson counties.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2024. A line of training storms over east central Kansas during the early morning hours on the 9th resulted in 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. Several road closures were reported in Lyon and Anderson counties.
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 Lyon 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.