29 flood insurance claims·$817,710 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 Pulaski 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 summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood character of Pulaski County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 57 flash flood events alongside 37 general flood events. Recent documented occurrences include heavy flooding on June 11, 2023, driven by a transitioning warm front and low pressure system, as well as significant flooding on January 1, 2022, caused by training showers and thunderstorms moving over a stalled warm front near the Highway 80 corridor.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims occur across multiple zones. Zone X properties account for 17 claims with an average payout of $31,183 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A properties recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $28,428 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Additionally, Zone X (unshaded) properties filed 5 claims averaging $45,782 with an average water depth of 1 inch, while 2 claims in unknown zones averaged $17,884 with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in mapped special flood hazard areas like Zone A, as well as properties in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas where historical claims and water accumulation have still resulted in significant payouts.
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 2 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 2010, with 7 claims and $196,931 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, 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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Pulaski County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 2 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, 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, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 27, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
94 since 1996: 57 flash floods and 37 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 11, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2022 | $8,000 |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | $4,000 |
| Flood | Feb 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | $200 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 11, 2023. A warm front was parked across western Kentucky during the early morning hours on Sunday June 11th. This slowly transitioned eastward through the first part of the day as an area of low pressure tracked along the Ohio River. By late afternoon and evening, the warm front was through eastern Kentucky, putting us in a more unstable pattern, especially with a quickly approaching cold front and a low pressure system so…
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2022. A stationary boundary lingered near the Ohio River through the day. The boundary provided a lifting mechanism for a moist and unstable air mass over eastern Kentucky. Torrential rainfall on top of already saturated soils caused streams to rapidly rise and flash flood at several locations.
Flash Flood · May 6, 2022. A warm front was in place across the state during the morning hours on May 6th, setting the stage for increased moisture and warm air into the region. By the afternoon, a nearby low pressure system began to occlude, furthering the lift and instability across the state. Showers and thunderstorms developed across much of the region throughout the day, becoming strong to severe by mid-day. Flooding and wind damage wa…
Flood · Jan 1, 2022. The second warmest December on record for Eastern Kentucky finished with a warm and moist air mass in place on New Year's Eve. A developing warm front slowly lifted northward out of the Tennessee Valley during the early morning hours on New Year's Day 2022 and stalled near the the Hal Rogers/Highway 80 corridor. The combination of strong lifting and near record atmospheric moisture levels for this time of year led…
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 Pulaski 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.