Greenup County, Kentucky Flood Zone Map

How Greenup County floods

Greenup County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by general riverine flooding alongside frequent flash flooding events. Over the past 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 51 flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 40 flash flood events. Recent activity includes prolonged moderate to heavy rainfall events from a warm front and passing low pressure system, as documented in February 2025.

Federal Emergency Management Agency records show that flood impacts span multiple zones, with the highest concentration of National Flood Insurance Program claims occurring in Zone A, which accounts for 509 claims with an average payout of $20,370 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Additional claims are distributed across other zones, including Zone X with 54 claims averaging a 20-inch water depth, Zone X Shaded with 61 claims averaging a 12-inch water depth, Zone Unknown with 69 claims averaging a 7-inch water depth, and Zone X Unshaded with 20 claims averaging a 3-inch water depth.

Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which bears the heaviest volume of historical claims, as well as properties in Zone X where average recorded water depths during past claims reached up to 20 inches.

Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.

Where the flood claims came from

14% of Greenup County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.

• A zones 509
• X shaded 61
• X 20

590 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.

How deep the water got

Flood claims, year by year

The worst year was 1997, with 93 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Severe Storm, Flooding, and Tornadoes.

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.

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · May 30, 2025. Beginning on the night of May 29th, a warm front lifted into the vicinity of eastern Kentucky and remained present overhead until being ushered east by a disturbance on the evening of the 30th. Behind this system, a cold front approached from the north and slowly descended southward through the area on the 31st.||Rounds of rain began on the morning of the 30th and continued to pass through the area overnight. Prec…

Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms spread across eastern Kentucky as a cold front approached from the northwest on September 24th. Following a brief lull in the evening, activity redeveloped as the front approached the Ohio River late that night and then continued east across West Virginia on the 25th. Although the front exited the area by the evening of the 25th, scattered showers continued into the night due to an approa…

Flood · Feb 17, 2025. Light showers started to arrive into northeast Kentucky on the evening of February 14th, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. While precipitation coverage eroded from southeast Ohio and northwest West Virginia during the afternoon, moderate to heavy rain continued to trail across northeast Kentucky. This precipitation band lifted no…

Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Light showers started to arrive into northeast Kentucky on the evening of February 14th, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. While precipitation coverage eroded from southeast Ohio and northwest West Virginia during the afternoon, moderate to heavy rain continued to trail across northeast Kentucky. This precipitation band lifted no…

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Greenup County

If a building in Greenup 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.