33 flood insurance claims·$1.3M paid·9 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 Lee 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 flooding from heavy rainfall events equally dominate the flood character of Lee County, based on 32 recorded flood events and 32 flash flood events over the last 30 years.
Recent historic events illustrate these risks. In March 2021, several rounds of heavy rain caused some of the most significant flooding in 50 to 60 years or more across eastern Kentucky, resulting in $350 to $400 million in damages. Later, between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, training thunderstorms produced rainfall rates exceeding four inches per hour, leading to deadly flash flooding and devastating river flooding across the region.
NFIP claim data shows that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A account for the highest claim volume with 23 claims averaging an 11-inch recorded water depth and a $50,504 average payout. Meanwhile, Zone X properties recorded 5 claims averaging a 14-inch water depth with a $50,957 average payout, and Zone X shaded properties recorded 4 claims averaging a 1-inch water depth with a $21,117 average payout. Homeowners and real estate agents in high-risk riverine areas and designated flood zones should pay the closest attention to these historical loss patterns.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Lee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
27 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 11 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 2021, with 12 claims and $584,986 paid, the year of Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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 Lee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
41 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 16, 2025 |
| 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, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
64 since 1996: 32 flash floods and 32 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 29, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 3, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 11, 2018 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 29, 2022. Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. These thunderstorms, at times, caused rainfall rates in excess of 4/hr across complex terrain that led to widespread devastating impacts. While it did not rain continuously during this 4-d…
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2022. Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. These thunderstorms, at times, caused rainfall rates in excess of 4/hr across complex terrain that led to widespread devastating impacts. While it did not rain continuously during this 4-d…
Flood · Feb 3, 2022. Periods of mostly light to moderate rain spread across eastern Kentucky on February 2nd and February 3rd, as waves of low pressure rode along a slow-moving arctic cold front settling in from the northwest. The strongest and last wave of low pressure lifted across the Appalachians late February 3rd and into February 4th bringing with it a final round of rain, changing over to a wintry mix and eventually snow flurri…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2021. With a stationary boundary parked just north of the state, and deep S to SW flow, much of the state was seeing ample amounts of warm air and moisture being advected in. Afternoon storms developed each day, each capable of producing torrential rainfall. While the impacts were somewhat isolated on the 9th and 10th (Wednesday and Thursday), more scattered to widespread convection was forecast for Friday the 11th, lea…
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 Lee 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.