11 flood insurance claims·$222,284 paid·3 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 Hart 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 and standard flooding from storms dominate the recorded flood events in Hart County. According to NOAA data from the last 30 years, the county experienced 26 flood events and 21 flash flood events, resulting in 2 deaths. Recent events include heavy rainfall and flash flooding from a strong storm system on February 15, 2025, and localized flash flooding caused by training showers and thunderstorms along a stationary front on July 30, 2024. Additional flash flood events occurred on April 2, 2025, and February 16, 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple zones. Zone A recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $52,619 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Zone X recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $30,166 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. One claim in an unknown zone averaged a $678 payout with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while a single claim in Zone X_UNSHADED averaged a $3,417 payout with an average recorded water depth of 96 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, where the majority of historical NFIP claims and payouts have occurred, as well as areas susceptible to the severe flash flooding documented across the county.
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 51 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 2010, with 4 claims and $157,139 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, 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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Hart County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 3 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, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | 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, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 15, 2023 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
47 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $10,000 · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on February 15th and 16th, 2025, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding, severe weather, and winter weather to central Kentucky. The large scale upper level pattern featured deep troughing ejecting across the central CONUS, with broad southwesterly flow occurring in the low and mid troposphere. Southerly flow helped to draw rich moisture up from the G…
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. On the night of April 2nd, 2025, a cold front approached the lower Ohio Valley. Along and ahead of the cold front, numerous supercells developed over southern Illinois and western Kentucky. These storms tracked eastward and occasionally grew upscale into a QLCS with bowing segments. Storms lasted all night and into the morning hours, as the cold front began to stall over the lower Ohio Valley. These storms left be…
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2024. A stationary front was located over the lower Ohio Valley from July 30th into July 31st, with upper level flow oriented from northwest to southeast across the region. This upper flow pattern brought multiple waves of showers and thunderstorms across southern Indiana and central Kentucky over this two day stretch. Scattered strong to severe storms mainly produced wind damage, with localized flash flooding also bein…
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2023. A strong storm system moved through the Ohio Valley beginning late in the evening on February 15th and continuing through much of the day on February 16th. An amplified mid- and upper-level trough moved across the central Plains during this time period, with an associated surface disturbance transiting from the Red River Valley northeastward into the Ohio Valley. A surface warm front was located parallel to the Oh…
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 Hart 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.