27 flood insurance claims·$101,685 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 Marshall 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 severe summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Marshall County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 34 flash flood events compared to 7 general flood events. Widespread thunderstorms during the afternoon of July 29, 2020, triggered multiple flash flood events across several affected counties, including Marshall County.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims are concentrated in specific zones. Properties located in Zone A account for the vast majority of claims with 24 filings, resulting in an average payout of $5,211 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. A single claim in Zone X-shaded recorded an average payout of $23,524 with no recorded water depth, while two claims in Zone UNKNOWN resulted in $0 average payouts and zero recorded water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A, as these areas carry the highest frequency of historical insurance claims and documented water accumulation during heavy precipitation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Marshall County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
25 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 3 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 10 claims and $65,549 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Marshall County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| 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 | Sep 1, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 14, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 34 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2020. Several counties experienced flash flooding following widespread thunderstorms during the afternoon of 7/29.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2019. Isolated thunderstorms during the early evening hours of June 20th produced a few large hail reports. More significant severe weather occurred during the overnight hours as two complexes moved across the forecast area.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2018. A cluster of thunderstorms pushed into portions of northeast Kansas during the mid-afternoon hours. Several damaging wind reports were noted.
Flash Flood · Sep 5, 2018. Additional heavy rain during the early morning hours of September 5th and 7th brought flash-flooding across portions of the area.
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 Marshall 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.