42 flood insurance claims·$1.1M 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 Estill 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.
Estill County experiences a flood risk characterized primarily by a nearly even mix of standard river and creek flooding alongside heavy flash flooding events. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 74 flood events and 64 flash flood events, resulting in one flash flood death. Recent documented instances include heavy rainfall and thunderstorms driven by low-pressure systems and warm fronts in January 2025 and May 2025.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates that properties situated in designated high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas face the most severe financial impact. Specifically, properties in Zone A account for the vast majority of claims with 33 filings, averaging a payout of $32,153 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. By comparison, Zone X properties recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $26,177 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while unknown zones recorded 2 claims averaging $1,200 with an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, as these locations 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 Estill County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 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 2021, with 25 claims and $822,416 paid, the year of Severe, Storms, 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.
48 NOAA storm reports from Estill County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
38 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 5 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, 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, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
138 since 1996: 64 flash floods and 74 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2021 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. A closed upper level low slowly moved out of SW CONUS and opened into a positively tilted trough as it approached KY. Large scale flow ahead of the lows approaching cold front, pulled gulf moisture northward. Soaking rain resulted for much of the area, as this moisture rich air lifted over a warm front as it progressed northward. On Friday, the 31st, the trailing cold front pushed through the area tapering rain of…
Flash Flood · May 13, 2025. With high pressure exiting to the east of the state, a weak low pressure system started to form to our southwest, slowly moving northeast, making it through western KY between 18 and 21Z. This was accompanied by a closed upper level low, which was allowing for strong advection of warm and especially moist air into the region, focused across the east part of Kentucky. The result was showers and thunderstorms that p…
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2022. Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. These thunderstorms, at times, caused rainfall rates in excess of 4/hr across complex terrain that led to widespread devastating impacts. While it did not rain continuously during this 4-d…
Flash Flood · May 6, 2022. A warm front was in place across the state during the morning hours on May 6th, setting the stage for increased moisture and warm air into the region. By the afternoon, a nearby low pressure system began to occlude, furthering the lift and instability across the state. Showers and thunderstorms developed across much of the region throughout the day, becoming strong to severe by mid-day. Flooding and wind damage wa…
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 Estill 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.