9 flood insurance claims·$98,319 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 Republic 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 risk profile in Republic County, Kansas, accounting for 24 out of 25 recorded flood events over the last 30 years.
Severe weather can escalate quickly, as demonstrated by saturated soils from previous rainfall that triggered widespread flash flooding across the region on May 27, 2016, and a subsequent heavy storm system that produced flash flooding on July 26, 2020.
Property owners in specific FEMA-designated zones should pay the most attention to this risk, particularly those in Zone A, which recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $20,604 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Residents in Zone X_SHADED (3 claims, averaging $6,764 with an average water depth of 2 inches) and Zone X (2 claims, averaging $1,188 with an average water depth of 0 inches) have experienced fewer and less severe impacts, but localized heavy rainfall still warrants caution across all mapped areas.
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 2003, with 4 claims and $57,613 paid.
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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Republic County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 2 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 | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 22, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 14, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2009 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2009 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2020. Flash flooding occurred in several counties following a batch of strong thunderstorms in north-central KS. An isolated storm in Franklin County also caused flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2018. A complex of thunderstorms pushed southeast across the CWA producing numerous damaging wind reports.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2016. Saturated soils from the previous days' rainfall led to flash-flooding across north-central Kansas as a complex of thunderstorms moved through during the afternoon and evening.
Flash Flood · May 6, 2015. Approximately 14 tornadoes were documented and confirmed via reports and radar data all occurring during the late afternoon and evening of May 6th. The tornadoes impacted Republic, Cloud, Washington and Clay Counties. In fact, 7 tornadoes alone occurred in Republic County. This was the largest one day outbreak of tornadoes in the past 10 years for NWS Topeka. The strongest tornado was an EF3 that destroyed a h…
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 Republic 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.