16 flood insurance claims·$153,686 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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell County, supported by 15 flash flood events compared to 4 general flood events over the last 30 years. Storm records document severe weather producing localized flooding, such as the storms on May 1, 2018, which merged into multicell clusters tracking across Mitchell County. Another notable event occurred on August 31, 2014, when a concentrated zone of strong thunderstorms produced heavy rain and flooding across eastern portions of the county. Additional events include heavy rain from a stormy early-summer night on June 27, 2020, and severe weather near a warm front on June 1, 2011.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest volume in unshaded Zone X reporting 9 claims averaging an average of $11,201 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A recorded 3 claims averaging an average of $1,954 with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while Zone X recorded 2 claims averaging an average of $23,252 with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Properties with unknown flood zones also accounted for 2 claims averaging an average of $6,834 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in unshaded Zone X, Zone A, and unmapped areas should pay close attention to these localized thunderstorm risks.
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 2 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 3 claims and $4,237 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Mitchell County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 14, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Sep 1, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 12, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2020 | $125,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2018 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2014 | $10,000 |
| Flood | May 24, 2011 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2011 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2011 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2008 | $75,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2020. This was an active late Friday evening-early Saturday morning across this six-county North Central Kansas area, featuring limited severe weather in Rooks/Phillips counties and some relatively minor flooding mainly within the northeast one-third of Mitchell County. But for the majority of the area this was just a classic, stormy early-summer night (most places measured between 0.50-2.00 inches of rain). As for the…
Flash Flood · May 1, 2018. Storms produced very heavy rain, localized hail and wind damage, and even a brief tornado over north central Kansas on this Tuesday afternoon and evening. Around 2 PM CST, several thunderstorms rapidly developed southwest-to-northeast across Rooks and Smith counties. These storms merged into a line as they moved east and gradually evolved into two multicell clusters. Each cluster tracked across portions of Jewell,…
Flash Flood · Aug 31, 2014. For a few hours on this Sunday afternoon, a concentrated zone of several strong to severe thunderstorms streamed through eastern portions North Central Kansas, almost exclusively affecting Mitchell and eastern Jewell counties within the local area. Based on a number of storm reports, this was mainly a hail and heavy rain/flooding event, as there were only a few reports of slightly sub-severe wind gusts. Hail-wise,…
Flood · May 24, 2011. The time frame between the early morning hours of Tuesday the 24th into the day on Wednesday the 25th brought widespread heavy rainfall and flooding to much of North Central Kansas, in what turned out to be the second of three significant heavy rainfall events within a 2-week span. This event unfolded in two distinct waves, with the heaviest accumulations focused from the evening of the 24th into the early morning…
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 Mitchell 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.