179 flood insurance claims·$4.2M 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 Jessamine 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.
Jessamine County experiences a flood risk characterized primarily by a mix of standard floods and flash floods, with flash flooding responsible for one death over the last 30 years according to NOAA data. Recent historical events include significant flash flooding driven by training storms on June 26, 2018, and heavy rainfall and flooding issues from lingering boundaries and a passing trough on July 2, 2018. Additionally, the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon interacted with a stationary front to produce heavy moisture and flash flooding on September 9, 2018.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Zone A has accumulated the highest impact with 110 claims averaging $31,097 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties have also seen notable impact with 31 claims averaging $15,661 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Zone X recorded 13 claims averaging $23,930 with a 6-inch average water depth, unknown zones logged 19 claims averaging $13,413 with a 7-inch average water depth, and shaded Zone X recorded 6 claims averaging $8,506 with a 3-inch average water depth. Residents in Zone A and unshaded Zone X should pay the most attention to this flood risk, given the higher frequency and severity of claims in those areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
25% of Jessamine County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
147 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 10 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 40 claims and $1.3M 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Jessamine County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 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, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 27, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 15, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 13 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 26, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 9, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2018 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jul 2, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2014 | — |
| Flood | May 2, 2010 | $500,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 26, 2018. On the second day of heavy rain across central Kentucky, a quasi-stationary boundary was draped across the area. Training storms across south central KY in the morning resulted in significant flash flooding. Strong to severe thunderstorms then developed during the late morning across east central KY. As these storms moved off to the east another round of storms moved in from the west in response to a system movin…
Flash Flood · Sep 9, 2018. On September 5, 2018, the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon moved north from the Gulf of Mexico. It carried copious amounts of moisture as it continued to rotate while slowly moving north. In Kentucky, the outer bands of the system brought showers and thunderstorms that produced isolated wind damage September 5 and 6. By September 8th, Gordon was centered in southeast Missouri with much of its moisture and ener…
Flash Flood · Jul 2, 2018. Central Kentucky sat on the western side of a strong upper ridge, but as a trough moved in from the west, it caused severe weather and flooding issues on the 2nd. High precipitable water values around 2 and lingering boundaries caused heavy rain and flooding issues on the 3rd as well.
Flood · Jul 2, 2018. Central Kentucky sat on the western side of a strong upper ridge, but as a trough moved in from the west, it caused severe weather and flooding issues on the 2nd. High precipitable water values around 2 and lingering boundaries caused heavy rain and flooding issues on the 3rd as well.
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 Jessamine 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.