Enter any address in Bell County, Kentucky to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding from thunderstorms is the dominant flood character in Bell County, KY. Between 2024 and 1994, NOAA Storm Events data recorded 61 flash flood events and 44 flood events. Recent examples include flash flooding on July 31, 2024, and August 2, 2024, associated with severe thunderstorms.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data indicates that properties in Zone A have the highest number of claims at 364, with an average payout of $12,275 and an average water depth of 3.6 feet. Properties in Zone X_SHADED have a higher average payout of $17,454, despite a lower average water depth of 1.8 feet, with 53 claims. Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X_SHADED, as well as those in Zone X with an average payout of $24,875, should pay particular attention to flood risk.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
58 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Bell County, Kentucky has recorded 105 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 61 flash floods and 44 river or area floods. The county has received 29 federal disaster declarations, 9 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1967–2026)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Severe Storm | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Severe Storm | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Helene | Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Flood | Feb 15, 2023 |
| Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Flood | Feb 27, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Severe Storm | Feb 3, 2020 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2024 | 15.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 10, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jul 28, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2022 | 0.00K |
Flood — Jan 31, 2025
A closed upper level low slowly moved out of SW CONUS and opened into a positively tilted trough as it approached KY. Large scale flow ahead of the lows approaching cold front, pulled gulf moisture northward. Soaking rain resulted for much of the area, as this moisture rich air lifted over a warm front as it progressed northward. On Friday, the 31st, the trailing cold front pushed through the a...
Flash Flood — Jul 31, 2024
SPC had much of the state, including easter KY in a slight risk for severe thunderstorms for the day Wednesday July 31. According to SPC: Similar to yesterday, a seasonally strong belt of northwesterly flow aloft will persist today from the lower Ohio Valley to the southern Appalachians and coastal Southeast. Much of this will reside atop a moist and very unstable air mass, especially across pa...
Flash Flood — Aug 2, 2024
By impact standards, this was the least impactful of the four days. By 12Z Friday morning, August 2nd, the cold/stationary front to our northwest finally started to push eastward into western Kentucky. A line of storms had already developed along it and pushed well ahead of it. By the time it reached western Kentucky. The line of storms was already moving into central Kentucky. Thankfully as i...
Flash Flood — Sep 10, 2023
A warm front moved eastward towards the Kentucky border counties during the day on September 9th, 2023. It then stalled during the afternoon and evening along the highest terrain just east of the state. Showers and thunderstorms developed just ahead of this front and moved westward into eastern Kentucky. As the front stalled, the storms began back-building and training across some of the same a...
Flash Flood — Jul 31, 2022
A stalled frontal boundary and surface low pressure south of the state early Sunday morning began to slowly lift northward into the southeast and south-central portion of the state throughout the day. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the boundary and moved eastward. Since the system as whole showed very little forward progression, multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms ended up m...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Bell County, Kentucky:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Bell County, Kentucky that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.