73 flood insurance claims·$1.4M 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 Owen 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 severe storms is the primary flood hazard in Owen County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 37 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 29 general flood events causing 1 death.
Local flood risks are frequently triggered by low pressure systems and afternoon thunderstorms moving across the Ohio Valley. For example, a low pressure system brought heavy rain and 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rainfall that produced widespread flooding on February 17, 2022. Earlier, scattered afternoon thunderstorms associated with a lifting warm front caused flash flooding on April 30, 2025, while similar storms developed ahead of a low pressure system on January 3, 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage is concentrated in high-risk areas. Properties located in FEMA Flood Zone A account for 68 historical claims, with an average payout of $21,652 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. An additional 5 claims occurred in Zone UNKNOWN, averaging a $6,604 payout with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties situated in Zone A should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Owen County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
68 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 7 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 28 claims and $519,920 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Owen County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 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, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 6, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
66 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 29 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 14, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 4, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 30, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours as a warm front lifted north across 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 · May 15, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms during the morning hours produced heavy rainfall and localized flooding.
Flash Flood · Jan 3, 2023. Showers and thunderstorms developed during the morning hours ahead of a low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley.
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 Owen 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.