2 flood insurance claims·$10,004 paid·5 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 Elliott 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 slow-moving thunderstorms and heavy rain events dominates the flood profile of Elliott County, which recorded 18 flash flood events and 14 general flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Severe weather patterns regularly drive these incidents. For example, a slow-moving line of thunderstorms produced flash flooding from Morehead to west of Sandy Hook in May 2018. Additionally, the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Cindy combined with a late June cold front in 2017 to bring widespread showers and heavy moisture to the region, including 3.59 inches of recorded rainfall in Sharkey.
Historical National Flood Insurance Program records indicate minimal claims activity in the county, split between Zone A and unknown zones. Properties located in Zone A and unmapped or unknown flood zones should pay the most attention to flood risk, as limited historical claims data does not preclude localized flash flooding during intense precipitation events.
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 1 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Elliott County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 5 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 14, 2025 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Helene | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 15, 2023 |
| Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 27, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2018 | $100 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2017 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2015 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2015 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2015 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2011 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2018. A slow moving line of thunderstorms developed from mid to late this afternoon across central Kentucky. As this line progressed east into the Bluegrass region of eastern Kentucky, these storms increased in coverage as rainfall rates increased. This led to instances of flash flooding across portions of Bath and Montgomery Counties. These storms continued to move east into the evening hours, creating additional flash…
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2017. The combination of the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Cindy and a late June cold front brought widespread showers and thunderstorms to much of eastern Kentucky this evening. A plethora of moisture in place due to the northward track of Cindy brought hefty rainfall amounts to the Bluegrass region and into portions of east central Kentucky. The highest recorded rainfall amount across eastern Kentucky came from Sharkey…
Flood · Dec 25, 2015. Heavy rain and flooding affected portions of eastern Kentucky on Christmas day 2015. Several locations received between 1.5 and 2.75 inches of rain during this event.
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2015. Scattered thunderstorms affected parts of northeast Kentucky during the early morning hours, and then erupted again over eastern Kentucky during the afternoon hours producing wind damage in a few locations.
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 Elliott 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.