75 flood insurance claims·$1.8M paid·1 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 Montgomery 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 general flooding driven by storm systems and convective squall lines dominate the flood risk in Montgomery County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database has recorded 51 flash flood events—resulting in one death—along with 26 general flood events. Recent documented occurrences include a nocturnal convective squall line moving through Eastern Kentucky in April 2025, and a low-pressure system producing ongoing showers and widespread flooding reports in February 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 52 claims with an average payout of $22,621 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Additionally, Zone X has recorded 15 claims with an average payout of $51,275 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while unshaded Zone X accounts for 8 claims with an average payout of $14,451 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, where the highest frequency of claims occurs, as well as properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X where significant claim payouts and standing water depths are documented.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
60 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 6 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 2018, with 12 claims and $285,140 paid.
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.
28 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 1 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 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Helene | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide | Jul 11, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Feb 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Tornadoes | May 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
77 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 19, 2020 | $400 |
| Flood | May 19, 2020 | $11,000 |
| Flood | May 19, 2020 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 20, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 2025. On the afternoon of the 2nd a strong surface low was located over the MN/WI area, with a warm front extending southwest through the OH valley, and a trailing cold front extending SSE through the Ozarks. By 00Z (the evening of the 2nd), a strong convective squall line had developed across the Ohio and Mississippi Valley which slowly continued east through the evening. By early morning on the 3rd this strong, noctur…
Flood · Feb 16, 2023. A low pressure center was slowly tracking into western Kentucky during the first part of the day on Wedensday, with a stationary front positioned along the Ohio River, and keeping much of eastern Kentucky in a warm, moist, and unstable airmass. Showers and thunderstorms were ongoing through much of the morning, leading to multiple flooding reports across the region. Then by the afternoon, the low pressure center h…
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2022. Kentucky was experiencing warm and moist SW flow heading through the day on July 5, while flow in the mid and upper levels was more westerly. While no forcing mechanism was in place across the state )as far as low pressure center, shortwave, or frontal boundary) and the better severe weather concerns were concentrated well to our NW, the low level wind sheer and decent Cape values were enough to create good boyanc…
Flood · May 19, 2020. A slow moving low pressure system drifted across the Ohio Valley on May 18 and 19, bringing several rounds of heavy rain to the eastern reaches of the Commonwealth. The hardest hit areas spanned from the Cumberland Valley to the Bluegrass region where widespread rainfall amounts of 3-6 inches fell over the two day period. This caused several road closures and flooding of low lying areas as points on the Red, Kentu…
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 Montgomery 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.