311 flood insurance claims·$5.6M paid·3 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 Montgomery 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 river flooding from severe thunderstorms dominate the historical flood record in Montgomery County, Kansas. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 48 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 38 general flood events resulting in 1 death. Recent occurrences illustrate this pattern; for example, heavy rainfall from a complex of thunderstorms caused short-term flooding across multiple areas in June 2024. Additionally, heavy downpours from showers and thunderstorms prompted multiple flood warnings and a flash flood warning in July 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas, though claims concentrate heavily there. Zone A properties experienced the bulk of the impact with 229 claims, averaging a payout of $21,795 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Properties in shaded Zone X recorded 29 claims averaging $17,435 with an average water depth of 6 inches. Unshaded Zone X and standard Zone X properties each recorded 21 claims, with average payouts of $24,285 (averaging 8 inches of water depth) and $35,775 (averaging 8 inches of water depth), respectively. Zones of unknown designation accounted for 11 claims averaging $4,995 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, as well as those in various Zone X classifications that have a demonstrated history of insurance claims and standing water during heavy precipitation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
279 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 9 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 90 claims and $3.7M 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 25, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
86 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 38 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2021 | $100 |
| Flood | Jul 17, 2021 | $100 |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2020 | $100 |
| Flood | Sep 8, 2020 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 3, 2024. A complex of marginally severe thunderstorms developed and moved through the region during the morning hours of the 3rd. Most thunderstorms did not produce severe hail or wind, but rainfall was very heavy causing short term flooding in many areas. This flooding subsided during the evening hours.
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2021. Showers and thunderstorms dropped copious amounts of rain across the county warning area prompting several flood warnings and one flash flood warning in Montgomery county.
Flood · Jul 17, 2021. Showers and thunderstorms dropped copious amounts of rain across the county warning area prompting several flood warnings and one flash flood warning in Montgomery county.
Flash Flood · May 15, 2020. Severe storms dropped lots of hail, produced sporadic wind damage, and also caused widespread flooding and areas of flash flooding on May 15th, 2020. Hail sized remained below 1.5 inches and the winds were between 60 and 70 mph. Unfortunately, a tree was blown across a roadway and an individual did not see the tree and crashed into it and lost his life.
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 Montgomery 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.