80 flood insurance claims·$1.4M paid·4 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 Graves 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.
Graves County experiences flood risk dominated by frequent flash flooding, with 46 recorded flash flood events compared to 31 general flood events and one recorded death over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events drive this hazard, as demonstrated on January 30, 2025, when a low pressure system dropped 3 to 4 inches of rain, resulting in a water rescue near the Graves/Hickman County line. Additional significant flash flooding occurred on February 15, 2025, driven by steady rains streaming northward over a stationary warm front.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating that flood exposure is not limited to designated high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 57 claims with an average payout of $16,259 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties recorded 14 claims with an average payout of $31,112 and an average recorded water depth of 23 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $18,153 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED where lower-frequency events have produced deeper average recorded water depths and higher average claim payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Graves County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
65 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 9 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 2006, with 26 claims and $505,496 paid.
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.
42 NOAA storm reports from Graves County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 4 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, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 27, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
77 since 1996: 46 flash floods and 31 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Sep 24, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2023 | $2.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 30, 2025. A low pressure system pushing northeastward through the Quad State region brought moderate to heavy rain to Western Kentucky for the midday through evening hours. Flash flood and areal flood issues developed late afternoon to early evening in the Purchase Area and Southern Pennyrile where widespread 3 to 4 inch storm total precipitation observations occurred. A water rescue occurred near the Graves/Hickman County…
Flood · Jan 30, 2025. A low pressure system pushing northeastward through the Quad State region brought moderate to heavy rain to Western Kentucky for the midday through evening hours. Flash flood and areal flood issues developed late afternoon to early evening in the Purchase Area and Southern Pennyrile where widespread 3 to 4 inch storm total precipitation observations occurred. A water rescue occurred near the Graves/Hickman County…
Flood · Sep 24, 2025. A slow moving cold front lingered near the Ohio River during the evening hours on the 24th. MLCAPE values during the afternoon to early evening were around 1000J/kg, effective bulk shear was 30kts, and precipitable water was 1.75-2in. Isolated showers and storms midday became more widespread late afternoon into the evening. Part of a bridge washed out near Boaz, while significant flash flooding occurred in the tow…
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…
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 Graves 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.