327 flood insurance claims·$3.6M paid·1 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 Daviess 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.
River flooding and heavy rainfall drive the flood risk in Daviess County, supported by NOAA records showing 74 general flood events and 51 flash flood events, including one recorded death, over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are demonstrated by events in February 2025, when two waves of heavy rainfall totaling 2 to 7 inches across the Ohio, Tennessee, and Green River Valleys caused minor and moderate flooding around Owensboro, with the Ohio River cresting at a moderate flood level of 44.1 feet. An additional flood event occurred in July 2025 due to high precipitable water values and torrential rainfall rates.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties in high-risk riverine areas, particularly given that the highest volume of National Flood Insurance Program claims is concentrated in Zone A, which accounts for 242 claims with an average payout of $15,395 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone X also warrant attention, having logged 40 claims with an average payout of $17,403 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, alongside smaller numbers of claims in unshaded and shaded Zone X variations and unknown zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Daviess County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
263 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 1997, with 89 claims and $1.1M 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.
59 NOAA storm reports from Daviess County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1996, 1 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, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Storm, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 2, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
125 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 74 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2023 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | $15,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 18, 2025. A surface boundary was positioned west to east across the Quad State during the early afternoon with convective activity increasing with daytime heating. Scattered convection primarily occurred south of the boundary mid to late afternoon. MLCAPE reached 2000-3000J/kg but effective bulk shear was very limited. Precipitable water values over 2 allowed for torrential rainfall rates. Training storm activity was limite…
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Two waves of heavy rainfall (2-7) over the Ohio, Tennessee, and Green River Valleys on the 15th resulted in minor flooding along a large portion of the Ohio River, including the Evansville, Henderson, Golconda, Smithland, and Cairo areas. Minor and moderate flooding occurred around Owensboro, Paducah, and Olmsted. The river crested at moderate flood levels at Owensboro (44.1 feet), Paducah (43.2 feet), and Olmsted…
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border. Steady rains began just after 0000CST on the 15th and continued until around 0100CST on the 16th. The rain came in waves with the first one targeting Fulton, Murray, Fort Campbell, and Guthrie with 1-2��� in the pre-d…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border. Steady rains began just after 0000CST on the 15th and continued until around 0100CST on the 16th. The rain came in waves with the first one targeting Fulton, Murray, Fort Campbell, and Guthrie with 1-2��� in the pre-d…
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 Daviess 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.