1,083 flood insurance claims·$27.4M 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 Oldham 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 driven by heavy rainfall events dominates the flood risk profile in Oldham County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 45 flash flood events compared to 9 general flood events. Recent activity includes a strong storm system that brought heavy rainfall and flooding on February 15 and 16, 2025, as well as an isolated stationary thunderstorm that produced flash flooding over a small area on April 15, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones with varying impacts. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims at 881, with an average payout of $31,304 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 64 claims with an average payout of $22,516 and an average water depth of 13 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $50,645 and an average water depth of 13 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk, given the higher frequency of claims and significant average water depths recorded in these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Oldham County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
901 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 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 1997, with 188 claims and $7.3M 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Oldham County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
18 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, 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 | Apr 2, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 27, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Jan 26, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
54 since 1996: 45 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 25, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 25, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 24, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2025. On July 17th, a west to east oriented cold front dropped southeast from the Midwest and stalled along the Ohio River. Multiple waves of convection along the front continued moving west to east across central Kentucky before the front lifted back north on July 20th. Some isolated flooding issues and downed trees were observed in multiple counties.
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on February 15th and 16th, 2025, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding, severe weather, and winter weather to central Kentucky. The large scale upper level pattern featured deep troughing ejecting across the central CONUS, with broad southwesterly flow occurring in the low and mid troposphere. Southerly flow helped to draw rich moisture up from the G…
Flash Flood · Apr 15, 2024. On April 15th, south of a nearly stationary front, a couple of isolated thunderstorms developed over north central Kentucky. One of these storms remained almost stationary over Oldham County. This produced severe hail, tree damage, and flash flooding over a relatively small area.
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2021. Central Kentucky sat under the leading edge of an upper ridge during a period of typical summer weather. Temperatures rose during the day creating strong instability in the atmosphere that caused showers and thunderstorms to breakout. As rain filled downdrafts initiated outflow boundaries, the outflow boundaries initiated more storms. This happened daily before a weak cold front pushed drier air into the region.…
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 Oldham 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.