990 flood insurance claims·$14.7M 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 Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County, supported by NOAA data recording 127 flash flood events and 101 general flood events over the last 30 years, resulting in a total of two deaths. Recent activity is documented in June 2025, when slow-moving and training thunderstorms produced significant flooding across the area, followed by severe thunderstorm complexes and damaging winds in early June 2025.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows impacts extend across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 639 claims averaging a $20,562 payout and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X accounts for 133 claims with an average $18,570 payout and an average water depth of 7 inches, while shaded and unshaded Zone X categories recorded average payouts of $46,286 and $37,961, respectively.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X—including both shaded and unshaded areas—should pay the most attention to flood risk, given the significant claim history and recorded water depths averaging 6 to 7 inches across these designations.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Sedgwick County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
762 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 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 1998, with 117 claims and $3.2M paid, the year of Flooding 10/31/98.
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.
109 NOAA storm reports from Sedgwick County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 2, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 14, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 8, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Sep 1, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, And Flooding | Jan 4, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Ice Storm | Jan 29, 2002 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | May 3, 1999 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
228 since 1996: 127 flash floods and 101 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 3, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 19, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 19, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Oct 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 5, 2023 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 7, 2025. A complex of severe thunderstorms developed across southwest Kansas during the late evening hours of June 6th. These storms then progressed across southern Kansas during the early morning hours of June 7th. Several reports of damaging winds were reported across south-central Kansas.
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2025. Thunderstorms developed across south-central Kansas during the morning hours of June 3rd and slowly moved to the northeast. Additional rounds of thunderstorms developed and trained across portions of south-central and southeast Kansas. Numerous reports of flash-flooding were observed across the area with significant flooding across Sedgwick and Butler counties.
Flood · Jun 3, 2025. Thunderstorms developed across south-central Kansas during the morning hours of June 3rd and slowly moved to the northeast. Additional rounds of thunderstorms developed and trained across portions of south-central and southeast Kansas. Numerous reports of flash-flooding were observed across the area with significant flooding across Sedgwick and Butler counties.
Flood · May 19, 2024. Around 2:30pm on Sunday May 19th, a high precipitation supercell developed near Hays along a warm front. This storm tracked east along I-70 producing a few brief tornadoes across Russell and northern Ellsworth county. As it progressed east, the wind and hail threat ramp-up as it moved into Saline County. The Salina Airport measured a 100 mph wind gust! There was also numerous reports of golf ball size hail acro…
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 Sedgwick 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.