14 flood insurance claims·$171,482 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 Osage 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood risk profile in Osage County, Kansas, accounting for twice as many historical events as riverine floods over the last 30 years. NOAA storm records document multiple instances of this hazard, including prolonged heavy rains that trained over the county on October 25, 2023, and severe thunderstorms that produced local flash flooding on March 29, 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that damages extend beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties located in FEMA Zone A account for the majority of claims, averaging 7 inches of recorded water depth with an average payout of $15,520. However, claims have also been filed in zones with undetermined status, which averaged 5 inches of recorded water depth and a $15,349 average payout, as well as unshaded Zone X properties where claims averaged 2 inches of recorded water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where historical water depths and claim payouts are highest. Additionally, property stakeholders outside of standard high-risk zones—particularly those in areas with unmapped or unknown flood designations—should also review local drainage conditions, given that past claims extend across multiple zone categories.
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 6 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 7 claims and $126,241 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Osage County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 3, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 8, 2024 |
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Snowstorm | Feb 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
66 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 22 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 25, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 29, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 1, 2024. Widespread rainfall of two to five inches, with localized amounts of up to ten inches, produced multiple instances of flash flooding across east-central Kansas.
Flash Flood · Oct 25, 2023. Rainfall trained over portions of Lyon and Osage Counties for several hours early on 10/25, causing flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Mar 29, 2022. A line of severe thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and moved across northeast Kansas producing sporadic wind gusts very heavy rains and one tornado. The tornado was rated EF1 with an intermittent path of around 9 miles. Very heavy rains also produced local flash flooding due to storm training over the same areas.
Flash Flood · Apr 30, 2019. Several rounds of heavy rainfall through the month led to widespread flooding to end April.
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 Osage 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.