116 flood insurance claims·$2.0M paid·4 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 Lewis 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 from severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Lewis County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 51 flash flood events resulting in 4 deaths, alongside 36 standard flood events. Storm events are frequently triggered by slow-moving frontal boundaries and low-pressure systems stalled along the Ohio River. Examples include a flash flood on April 4, 2025, caused by widespread showers and thunderstorms along a stalled frontal boundary, and a flash flood on June 13, 2021, produced by a passing cold front delivering locally heavy rainfall.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that high-risk areas bear a substantial portion of structural impact. Properties located in FEMA Zone A account for 54 claims with an average payout of $15,237 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X account for 48 claims with an average payout of $29,296 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within designated Zone A high-risk flood areas, where deeper average water accumulation occurs, as well as properties near the Ohio River and local tributaries vulnerable to sudden convective storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Lewis County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
56 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 8 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 45 claims and $1.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes and Severe Storms, Flooding, 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Lewis County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 4 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 Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 3, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
87 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 36 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 6, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2021 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours in a hot and humid airmass that was in place across the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Jun 17, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours in a warm and humid airmass.
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2025. A low pressure system brought heavy rainfall to the region as it moved through the Ohio Valley.
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 2025. Widespread showers and thunderstorms occurred across the region as waves of low pressure moved east along a frontal boundary that was stalled out along the Ohio River.
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 Lewis 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.