11 flood insurance claims·$596,723 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 Allen County, Kentucky. 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 severe weather events dominates the flood history of Allen County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 30 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 10 standard flood events.
Recent history highlights this recurring threat. A strong storm system on February 15 and 16, 2025, brought heavy rainfall and flooding driven by deep upper-level troughing and rich moisture drawn from the Gulf of America. Additionally, a quasi-stationary frontal boundary across the Ohio Valley produced heavy storms on May 8 and 9, 2024, following a similar flash flood event driven by a cold front and warm front interaction on May 20, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that property owners in both designated high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas experience financial impacts. Zone X records show 8 claims with an average payout of $65,477 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone A accounts for 2 claims with an average payout of $59,009 and an average water depth of 1 inch, while Zone X_UNSHADED accounts for 1 claim with an average payout of $20,367 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents across all mapped zones, particularly those in areas susceptible to rapid runoff and intense seasonal rainfall, should pay close attention to these localized flood risks.
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 4 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 2017, with 4 claims and $240,585 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Allen County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 16, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
40 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Feb 12, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 20, 2025. A negatively-tilted upper-level trough extended from the northern Great Plains down into the lower Ohio Valley on May 20th, bringing a strong cold front through the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Showers and storms moved across the region along a warm front during the morning hours, limiting heating somewhat; however, a break in the precipitation during the early-to-mid afternoon hours allowed temperatures to w…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on February 15th and 16th, 2025, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding, severe weather, and winter weather to central Kentucky. The large scale upper level pattern featured deep troughing ejecting across the central CONUS, with broad southwesterly flow occurring in the low and mid troposphere. Southerly flow helped to draw rich moisture up from the G…
Flash Flood · May 9, 2024. On May 8th and 9th, 2024, a quasi-stationary frontal boundary was draped from west to east across the Ohio Valley. Storms from the previous evening across southern Indiana and north central Kentucky had helped to stabilized the environment in those locations, though areas in southern Kentucky still had a good amount of instability and shear to work with during the afternoon and evening hours on May 8th. Early in t…
Flood · Feb 12, 2020. During the evening of the 12th, a low pressure system moved towards central Kentucky from the southwest. This brought an inch or two of rain to the area. As a result reports of flooded roadways came in from Allen and Jefferson Counties. A flood watch was in effect at the time.
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 Allen 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.