68 flood insurance claims·$1.2M 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 Marshall 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.
Marshall County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by flash floods and general floods, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 38 flash flood and 34 flood events (including 1 death) over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a January 2025 low pressure system that brought moderate to heavy rain and 3 to 4 inches of storm total precipitation, as well as significant flash flooding driven by steady, wave-based rains over a stationary warm front in February 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 41 claims with an average payout of $21,164 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X accounts for 16 claims with an average payout of $29,992 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED has 7 claims averaging a $3,237 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 2 claims averaging $11,339 with an average water depth of 1 inch, and Zone UNKNOWN logged 2 claims averaging $270 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, which holds the highest concentration of historical insurance claims, as well as those in Zone X where average payouts have been highest.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Marshall County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
50 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 4 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 2011, with 17 claims and $566,266 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and 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.
39 NOAA storm reports from Marshall County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 3 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 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
72 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 34 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | $1.5M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 30, 2025. A low pressure system pushing northeastward through the Quad State region brought moderate to heavy rain to Western Kentucky for the midday through evening hours. Flash flood and areal flood issues developed late afternoon to early evening in the Purchase Area and Southern Pennyrile where widespread 3 to 4 inch storm total precipitation observations occurred. A water rescue occurred near the Graves/Hickman County…
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border. Steady rains began just after 0000CST on the 15th and continued until around 0100CST on the 16th. The rain came in waves with the first one targeting Fulton, Murray, Fort Campbell, and Guthrie with 1-2��� in the pre-d…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border. Steady rains began just after 0000CST on the 15th and continued until around 0100CST on the 16th. The rain came in waves with the first one targeting Fulton, Murray, Fort Campbell, and Guthrie with 1-2��� in the pre-d…
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border. Steady rains began just after 0000CST on the 15th and continued until around 0100CST on the 16th. The rain came in waves with the first one targeting Fulton, Murray, Fort Campbell, and Guthrie with 1-2��� in the pre-d…
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 Marshall 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.