33 flood insurance claims·$458,026 paid·2 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 Gallatin 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.
Flooding in Gallatin County is characterized by a nearly even mix of longer-duration riverine floods and sudden flash floods. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 30 flood events and 28 flash flood events, resulting in one flash flood death.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. On February 28, 2021, widespread rain and a lifting warm front brought two to three inches of rainfall across much of the region, causing flooding. Later, on August 29, 2022, showers and thunderstorms associated with an upper-level disturbance developed across the Ohio Valley, producing flash flooding.
Federal Emergency Management Agency claims data demonstrates that property damage is concentrated in high-risk areas. Zone A properties experienced 31 claims with an average payout of $19,458 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. By comparison, Zone X recorded one claim with an average payout of $6,093 and an average recorded water depth of zero inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded one claim with an average payout of $4,400 and an average recorded water depth of three inches. Property owners in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risks given the significantly higher claim frequency, payout amounts, and water depths associated with these zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Gallatin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
31 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 14 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 13 claims and $277,831 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
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 Gallatin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1996, 2 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 Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2018 |
| 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.
58 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 30 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2022 | $8,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2022 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Aug 9, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Feb 7, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 24, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 15, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms during the morning hours produced heavy rainfall and localized flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2022. Showers and thunderstorms developed across the Ohio Valley as an upper level disturbance moved through the region.
Flood · Aug 9, 2022. Scattered showers and thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall during the evening hours.
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.
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 Gallatin 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.