Home›States›Kansas›Morton County
FEMA flood zones · Kansas

Morton County, Kansas Flood Zone Map

FEMA’s digital flood map shows no high- or moderate-risk zones in Morton County. That can mean the area was never studied in detail or has no digital map, not that it can’t flood; the county floodplain administrator can say which.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Morton 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.

Federal disasters

8 federal disaster declarations since 2005.

DisasterBegan
Severe Storms And Straight Line WindsDec 15, 2021
Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Straight-line Winds, And FloodingApr 28, 2017
Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And FloodingMay 19, 2011
Severe Winter StormsDec 6, 2007
Severe Winter StormDec 28, 2006
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationSep 1, 2005

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

9 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodJun 19, 2018—
FloodApr 15, 2016—
FloodAug 8, 2013—
FloodJun 27, 2004—
FloodJun 26, 2004—
Flash FloodJun 26, 2004—
Flash FloodJul 15, 1998—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2018. Thunderstorms focused primarily along a warm front across the Interstate 70 corridor as a short wave trough ejected across the plains. Precipitable water values were very high, in the 1.5 to 1.75 inch range.

Flood · Apr 15, 2016. Severe thunderstorms developed along a dry line mixing into western Kansas.

Flood · Aug 8, 2013. Thunderstorms developed along a cold front that was moving into the area which then became a heavy rain event. Flooding of near historic proportions was observed across far southern Ford and northern Clark counties.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Morton County

If a building in Morton 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.