23 flood insurance claims·$948,057 paid
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 Garrard 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 dominates the local flood profile, accounting for 19 out of 27 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 8 general flood events according to NOAA data. Severe weather is typically driven by slow-moving frontal systems, unstable air masses, and heavy rainfall moving into the region. For example, a heavy rain event on February 23, 2019, caused both general flooding and flash flooding when an upper trough and cold front pushed moisture into central Kentucky. Another flash flood occurred on November 30, 2019, when a low-pressure system and warm front brought heavy rainfall to already saturated soils.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in FEMA Zone A have experienced the highest impact, logging 17 claims with an average payout of $52,003 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X areas have also experienced claims, with Zone X recording 4 claims averaging $13,851 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, and unshaded Zone X recording 2 claims averaging $37,230 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in high-risk Zone A areas should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness and insurance requirements, though property owners in Zone X zones should also note that historical claims have occurred outside designated high-risk areas.
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 5 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 6 claims and $459,071 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, 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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Garrard County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1993.
| 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, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Tornadoes | May 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2019 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2021. Early on July 1st, there was a moist unstable air mass over southern Indiana and central Kentucky. Farther north in Indiana, a west to east oriented cold front was working its way south. This resulted in heavy rainfall and area flash flooding over central Kentucky as the front moved through the region. A Flash Flood Watch was in place before the event.
Flash Flood · Nov 30, 2019. A low pressure system approached central Kentucky from the west with a warm front extending to the east and a cold front to the south. Early in the day as the warm front moved north through central Kentucky, the lift provided by the front caused widespread heavy rainfall in areas that were already saturated from previous rains. Flash flooding was the result across several counties in central Kentucky. The rain cam…
Flash Flood · Feb 23, 2019. On February 19, 2019, a broad upper trough dipped south to the Gulf of Mexico and carried abundant amounts of moisture towards the Ohio Valley. Once the moisture was transport was underway, isentropic lift caused 1.5 to 3 of rainfall along the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. The higher amounts went as far north as south central Indiana.||On the 20th, an upper trough axis and cold front pushed through southern…
Flood · Feb 23, 2019. On February 19, 2019, a broad upper trough dipped south to the Gulf of Mexico and carried abundant amounts of moisture towards the Ohio Valley. Once the moisture was transport was underway, isentropic lift caused 1.5 to 3 of rainfall along the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. The higher amounts went as far north as south central Indiana.||On the 20th, an upper trough axis and cold front pushed through southern…
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 Garrard 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.