108 flood insurance claims·$1.2M 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 Reno 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 riverine flooding from slow-moving thunderstorms and stalled frontal boundaries dominate Reno County's flood history. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 32 standard flood events resulting in one death, alongside 24 flash flood events.
Recent flooding is exemplified by events in May 2019, when a stalled frontal boundary brought widespread showers and heavy rainfall to areas already saturated from recent precipitation, resulting in significant flash flooding and general flooding from the evening of May 7th into May 8th. Subsequent storms, such as those on June 23, 2025, produced additional flooding, hail, and wind reports as storms moved north and northeast through the overnight hours.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to properties in FEMA Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of local claims. Zone A properties experienced 90 claims with an average payout of $17,102 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. By comparison, Zone X properties recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $13,937 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded minimal claim activity with lower average payouts and depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Reno County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
92 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 28 claims and $407,916 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Reno County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 18, 2025 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| Cottonwood Fire Complex | Mar 5, 2022 |
| Tornadoes And Flooding | May 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 4, 2018 |
| Highland Hills Fire | Mar 4, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 32 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2019 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | May 7, 2019 | $100 |
| Flood | May 5, 2019 | $100 |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2025. Widely scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of June 23rd across portions of central and south central Kansas. These storms moved north and northeast through the evening hours with additional development through the overnight hours. These storms resulted in hail, wind and flooding reports.
Flood · May 25, 2019. A prolonged period of severe thunderstorms that produced a grand slam of flash floods, large hail, damaging winds & even a couple tornadoes hit nearly all of the Wichita (ICT) County Warning Area (CWA) throughout the afternoon & night on the 24th. Of the severe thunderstorm modes, floods & flash floods proved to be, by far, the greatest threat to these areas. The flash flooding continued across primarily Southeast…
Flood · May 21, 2019. An intense upper level system surged northeast across Kansas that brought an equally intense surface cyclone across the state in the afternoon. There was a moisture-rich environment entrenched across Kansas. This combined with the powerful cyclone crossing the state, numerous thunderstorms, several of which were severe, produced torrential rains that caused major flooding and flash flooding from the evening hours…
Flash Flood · May 8, 2019. A stalled frontal boundary was draped across portions of Kansas during the day on May 7th, 2019 ahead of an approaching storm system. Widespread showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall developed across the area. These storms inundated areas that were already saturated from recent rainfall resulting in widespread flooding across south central Kansas. ||Significant flash flooding occurred during the eveni…
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 Reno 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.