70 flood insurance claims·$1.6M paid·4 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 Carroll 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.
Carroll County experiences a near-even mix of long-duration river flooding and rapid flash flooding, with 28 flood events and 27 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years. These hazards are frequently driven by slow-moving thunderstorms or stalled frontal boundaries along the Ohio River, such as the widespread rain and thunderstorms that occurred in February 2021 and April 2025.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates that high-risk areas bear the brunt of these events. Zone A properties account for the vast majority of claims with 59 filings, averaging a payout of $30,171 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties with unknown zone designations recorded 9 claims averaging $9,423 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X properties saw 2 claims averaging $8,696 with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, as these areas experience the highest frequency of claims, the highest average payouts, and the greatest average water depths during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Carroll County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
59 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 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 2025, with 23 claims and $923,161 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Carroll County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| 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 6, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide | Jul 11, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Feb 29, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
55 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | $6,000 |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 5, 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 · Sep 3, 2022. Slow moving showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours in a warm and humid airmass.
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.
Flood · Jun 18, 2021. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours as a low pressure system moved through a warm and humid airmass that was in place across the Ohio Valley.
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 Carroll 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.