6 flood insurance claims·$64,961 paid·12 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 Owsley 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 river flooding from heavy rainfall dominate the flood risks in Owsley County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 29 flood events and 23 flash flood events.
Recent history highlights the severity of these events. In July 2022, training thunderstorms produced rainfall rates exceeding 4 inches per hour across complex terrain, causing deadly flash flooding, devastating river flooding, and widespread impacts throughout eastern Kentucky. Additionally, heavy rain from late February through March 1, 2021, brought some of the most significant flooding seen in 50 to 60 years or more, resulting in FEMA-estimated damages of $350 to $400 million across central and eastern Kentucky.
Property owners located in FEMA-designated Zone A should pay the closest attention to these risks. Historical National Flood Insurance Program records for Zone A show 6 claims with an average payout of $32,480 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
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 2021, with 2 claims and $64,961 paid, the year of Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides.
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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Owsley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
47 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 12 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 16, 2025 |
| 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 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Helene | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
52 since 1996: 23 flash floods and 29 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Sep 13, 2020 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2016 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2015 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Mar 4, 2015 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2022. Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. These thunderstorms, at times, caused rainfall rates in excess of 4/hr across complex terrain that led to widespread devastating impacts. While it did not rain continuously during this 4-d…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2021. With a stationary boundary parked just north of the state, and deep S to SW flow, much of the state was seeing ample amounts of warm air and moisture being advected in. Afternoon storms developed each day, each capable of producing torrential rainfall. While the impacts were somewhat isolated on the 9th and 10th (Wednesday and Thursday), more scattered to widespread convection was forecast for Friday the 11th, lea…
Flood · Mar 1, 2021. Several rounds of heavy rain moved across eastern Kentucky from late Friday, February 26th through early Monday, March 1st. The combination of all the heavy rainfall led to significant flooding across a good portion of central and east Kentucky. For some areas, this was the most significant flooding in the last 50 to 60 years, or more. FEMA estimates that this event cost $350-400 million dollars in damages, incl…
Flood · Sep 13, 2020. Deep moisture anchored across east Kentucky, combined with a stalled frontal boundary, then a cold front, led to several rounds of heavy rain from the evening of September 12th through the early afternoon hours on September 13th. This rain led to many reports of flooding and flash flooding, with several water rescues occurring during the late evening hours of September 12th. Rainfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5.5 i…
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 Owsley 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.