27 flood insurance claims·$1.1M 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 Miami 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 river flooding from heavy rainfall events occur with nearly equal frequency in Miami County, Kansas, accounting for a combined 55 recorded events and 2 deaths over the past 30 years. Prolonged rain systems and summer thunderstorms drive these incidents, such as a multi-day heavy rain event in July 2020 that brought isolated flooding and rainfall totals ranging from 6 to 10 inches, and widespread rain in September 2018 that caused minor flooding near Osawatomie.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have been filed across multiple zones, with Zone A properties recording 19 claims averaging $37,382 in payouts and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Properties in zones designated as Zone UNKNOWN recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $10,291 and an average recorded water depth of 36 inches. Additionally, properties in Zone X, Zone X_SHADED, and Zone X_UNSHADED have recorded a combined 5 claims, with average payouts ranging from $70,875 to $125,640 and average recorded water depths between 1 and 4 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and unshaded or shaded Zone X areas where claims and payouts have been documented.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Miami County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 8 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 2007, with 12 claims and $542,998 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Winter Storms.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Miami County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Sep 1, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
55 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Oct 10, 2018 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Sep 7, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2017 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Sep 10, 2016 | — |
— = 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 · Jun 28, 2021. Heavy rain produced some marginal flash flooding in Miami County Kansas and nearby Bates County Missouri.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2020. Over the course of the final few days of July a trough dug into the central part of the CONUS and produced several days of moderate to heavy rain. While the bulk of the flooding occurred on the Missouri side, there was some isolated flooding in Miami County Kansas. Some of the highest totals from the area ranged from 6 to 10 inches of rain. Despite the high rainfall amounts, only minor damage resulted from the flo…
Flash Flood · May 24, 2019. On the evening of May 24 strong storms brought severe winds and some isolated 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 Miami 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.