307 flood insurance claims·$8.6M paid·5 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 McCracken 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.
Flooding in McCracken County is characterized by a mix of frequent river flooding and flash flooding driven by heavy seasonal rainfall. Recent events illustrate this risk, including a February 2025 river flood that produced moderate flooding in Paducah with a crest of 43.2 feet, and a July 2025 event that brought torrential rainfall rates and flash flooding to Paducah.
National Flood Insurance Program records show varying impacts across different zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 226 filings, averaging $35,260 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties located in Zone X experience fewer claims, though unshaded areas show 32 claims with an average payout of $31,354 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Shaded Zone X areas recorded fewer claims (6) but a higher average water depth of 37 inches with an average payout of $29,841.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in Zone A, which carries the highest claim volume, as well as properties in Zone X where moderate-to-deep standing water has been recorded during past flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of McCracken County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
264 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 9 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 67 claims and $2.7M 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.
86 NOAA storm reports from McCracken County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 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, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 3, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 6, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
164 since 1996: 74 flash floods and 90 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2025 | $125,000 |
| Flood | May 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2025. A surface boundary was positioned west to east across the Quad State during the early afternoon with convective activity increasing with daytime heating. Scattered convection primarily occurred south of the boundary mid to late afternoon. MLCAPE reached 2000-3000J/kg but effective bulk shear was very limited. Precipitable water values over 2 allowed for torrential rainfall rates. Training storm activity was limite…
Flood · Jul 18, 2025. A surface boundary was positioned west to east across the Quad State during the early afternoon with convective activity increasing with daytime heating. Scattered convection primarily occurred south of the boundary mid to late afternoon. MLCAPE reached 2000-3000J/kg but effective bulk shear was very limited. Precipitable water values over 2 allowed for torrential rainfall rates. Training storm activity was limite…
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Two waves of heavy rainfall (2-7) over the Ohio, Tennessee, and Green River Valleys on the 15th resulted in minor flooding along a large portion of the Ohio River, including the Evansville, Henderson, Golconda, Smithland, and Cairo areas. Minor and moderate flooding occurred around Owensboro, Paducah, and Olmsted. The river crested at moderate flood levels at Owensboro (44.1 feet), Paducah (43.2 feet), and Olmsted…
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…
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 McCracken 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.