134 flood insurance claims·$2.0M 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 McLean 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.
River overflow is the dominant flood character in McLean County, KY, accounting for 60 recorded flood events compared to 15 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall and rising river levels frequently impact the region, as demonstrated by prolonged river flooding along the Green, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers that began in mid-February and extended into early March 2025. Additionally, multiple rounds of heavy rainfall from late January through mid-February 2025 caused major flooding on the Green River, resulting in numerous damaged structures in Rumsey and lower Calhoun as the river crested at 32.4 feet.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties in Zone A have experienced the highest concentration of historical impacts, registering 113 claims with an average payout of $18,584 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $4,311 and an average water depth of 3 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $31,737 and an average water depth of 1 inch, while Zone X_UNSHADED logged 3 claims with an average payout of $3,959 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Residents and property owners near rivers and within designated Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risks in the area.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of McLean County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
116 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 3 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 1997, with 44 claims and $481,755 paid, the year of Severe Storm, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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.
33 NOAA storm reports from McLean County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 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, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
75 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 60 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 13, 2025 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 13, 2025. Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall over the Green, Tennessee, and Ohio Valleys from January 31st through February 15th resulted in rising water levels on the Ohio and Green Rivers. The Green River took the brunt of the impact with major flooding from the Island area through Calhoun to near Jewel City. Numerous structures sustained flood damage in Rumsey and lower Calhoun. The Green River at Calhoun crested at 32.4…
Flood · Mar 1, 2025. A prolonged flooding event on the Green, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers, that began in the middle of February, continued into the first week of March. The Green River continued to see the worst flooding with moderate flooding continuing near Calhoun. Minor flooding mainly of bottomland continued at Paradise, Shawneetown, Olmsted, Cairo, and Hickman. Heavy rainfall in the middle of February was the cause of rising ri…
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 McLean 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.