16 flood insurance claims·$178,369 paid·2 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 Mason 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 standard flooding from stalled frontal boundaries dominate the flood history of Mason County. Over a 30-year period, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 40 flood events and 35 flash flood events, resulting in one flash flood death. Severe weather events are frequently driven by stationary fronts and low-pressure systems along the Ohio Valley and Ohio River. For example, widespread showers and thunderstorms produced flooding in April 2025 and January 2023, while a stalled stationary front caused flash flooding in July 2025.
Federal flood insurance data demonstrates that claims occur across multiple zones, with varying impacts. Properties located in FEMA-designated Zone A account for eight claims with an average payout of $20,558 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X accounts for three claims with an average payout of $7,505 and an average water depth of 19 inches. Unshaded Zone X accounts for three claims with an average payout of $5,521 and an average water depth of 29 inches, while unknown zones account for two claims with an average payout of $1,444 and an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X where historical claims indicate that significant average water depths can still occur during intense rainfall and storm events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
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 2010, with 3 claims and $34,420 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Mason County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 2 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, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2024 |
| Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 27, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jul 17, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
75 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 40 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2025 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2025. A stationary front stalled out along the Ohio Valley contributing to a warm and humid airmass. Showers and thunderstorms developed along this frontal boundary and some storms produced damaging winds.
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. A low pressure system brought heavy rainfall to the region as it moved through the Ohio Valley.
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2025. A low pressure system brought heavy rainfall to the region as it moved through the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Apr 5, 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 Mason 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.