4 flood insurance claims·$165,869 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 Cumberland 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 storms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk in Cumberland County, KY, accounting for 19 of the 23 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside four standard flood events. Recent incidents include heavy rainfall and flooding driven by strong storm systems in February 2025, as well as multiple rounds of slow-moving showers and thunderstorms ahead of stationary fronts in May 2024 and July 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood losses affect properties across different designated zones. Zone A claims average 2 inches of recorded water depth with an average payout of $56,000, while properties in unshaded Zone X have recorded an average water depth of 78 inches with an average payout of $109,091. An additional claim in an unknown zone averaged 1 inch of water depth and a $778 payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated flood zones such as Zone A, as well as unshaded Zone X parcels where historically recorded water depths and claim payouts have been significantly higher.
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 21 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 1989, with 2 claims and $56,000 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Cumberland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 3 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, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 26, 2022 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 22, 2024. A cold front moved into the Ohio Valley during the day on May 22nd. As the front approached the Ohio River, it became quasi-stationary, remaining in the vicinity of the river before lifting north during the afternoon and evening hours on May 23rd. Ahead of the front, a warm and unstable air mass allowed for the development of several rounds of showers and thunderstorms over a 24 to 36 hour period from the afternoo…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2022. During the evening and overnight hours of July 20th into July 21st, strong to severe thunderstorms developed out ahead of an approaching cold front. On the afternoon of July 20th, temperatures surged into the mid-90s across central Kentucky, with dewpoint temperatures reaching the mid-70s. The warm and unstable low levels, combined with mid-level height falls from an approaching trough, allowed for greater than 40…
Flash Flood · Feb 28, 2021. A stalled frontal boundary brought waves of heavy rainfall to central Kentucky from February 26 through February 28. This caused record rainfall, isolated severe winds, and even a tornado. As a result, Bowling Green set a February daily rainfall record with 5.11 on the 28th. The severe winds brought down some trees and a power pole, but the most property damage came from a brief EF1 tornado.
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 Cumberland 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.