39 flood insurance claims·$372,121 paid
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 Boone 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 floods and general floods dominate the historical record in Boone County, with NOAA data showing 38 flash flood events and 33 flood events over the last 30 years. These incidents are driven by weather systems such as widespread showers and thunderstorms moving along stalled frontal boundaries near the Ohio River, as well as scattered thunderstorms developing in warm and humid airmasses, as recorded in April 2025 and July 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims have been filed across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 24 claims with an average payout of $17,010 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X accounts for 10 claims with an average payout of $8,505 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Additional claims are distributed across unknown zones and shaded or unshaded Zone X designations, with average payouts ranging from $0 to $5,938 and average recorded water depths between 0 and 1 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated high-risk flood areas like Zone A, where claim frequency is highest, as well as properties in Zone X that have experienced significant average water depths during past events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Boone County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
27 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 1997, with 9 claims and $198,618 paid, the year of Severe Storm, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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 Boone County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1974.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 27, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 12, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
71 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 33 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 27, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 19, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 30, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jul 30, 2019 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 4, 2025. Widespread showers and thunderstorms occurred across the region as waves of low pressure moved east along a frontal boundary that was stalled out along the Ohio River.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the evening hours in a warm and humid airmass. The thunderstorms persisted into the overnight hours.
Flood · Jul 27, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the evening hours in a warm and humid airmass. The thunderstorms persisted into the overnight hours.
Flood · Feb 28, 2021. Widespread rain fell across the Ohio Valley during the morning hours as a warm front lifted north through the area. Two to three inches of rain fell across much of the region.
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 Boone 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.