309 flood insurance claims·$5.2M paid·11 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 Johnson 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 river floods drive the primary flood hazards in Johnson County, Kentucky, supported by 48 flash flood events and 20 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Flash floods have resulted in 4 deaths during this period. Major flood impacts are documented in recent history, such as the severe multi-day rainfall event from late February through March 1, 2021, which produced the most significant flooding in 50 to 60 years or more and caused $350 to $400 million in damages across central and eastern Kentucky according to FEMA estimates. Another notable event occurred on April 4, 2025, driven by a nocturnal convective squall line moving through Eastern Kentucky.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that properties situated in high-risk zones experience the heaviest structural impacts. Zone A accounts for the majority of historical claims at 214, with an average payout of $19,735 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties located in Zone X have also experienced significant financial loss, registering 59 claims with a higher average payout of $34,972 and an average water depth of 7 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 28 claims with an average payout of $3,934 and a 2-inch average water depth. Zone X_SHADED recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $8,513 and a 2-inch average water depth, while Zone X_UNSHADED logged 3 claims averaging $12,199 with a 1-inch average water depth. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these historical flood and claim patterns.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Johnson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
222 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 1984, with 84 claims and $549,422 paid, the year of High Winds, Tornadoes & Flooding.
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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Johnson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
48 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 11 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 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Helene | Sep 27, 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.
68 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 20, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 27, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 11, 2018 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2017 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2015 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 2025. On the afternoon of the 2nd a strong surface low was located over the MN/WI area, with a warm front extending southwest through the OH valley, and a trailing cold front extending SSE through the Ozarks. By 00Z (the evening of the 2nd), a strong convective squall line had developed across the Ohio and Mississippi Valley which slowly continued east through the evening. By early morning on the 3rd this strong, noctur…
Flood · Mar 1, 2021. Several rounds of heavy rain moved across eastern Kentucky from late Friday, February 26th through early Monday, March 1st. The combination of all the heavy rainfall led to significant flooding across a good portion of central and east Kentucky. For some areas, this was the most significant flooding in the last 50 to 60 years, or more. FEMA estimates that this event cost $350-400 million dollars in damages, incl…
Flash Flood · Feb 23, 2019. Periods of rain worked back into eastern Kentucky early on February 20 as a warm frontal boundary lifted north across the Commonwealth. A cold front brought additional rainfall through the afternoon and evening, before drier conditions worked into eastern Kentucky during the morning of February 21. ||Rain quickly spread back north that evening into the 22nd with southeastern Kentucky continuing to see prolonged li…
Flood · Feb 20, 2019. Periods of rain worked back into eastern Kentucky early on February 20 as a warm frontal boundary lifted north across the Commonwealth. A cold front brought additional rainfall through the afternoon and evening, before drier conditions worked into eastern Kentucky during the morning of February 21. ||Rain quickly spread back north that evening into the 22nd with southeastern Kentucky continuing to see prolonged li…
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 Johnson 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.