293 flood insurance claims·$5.1M paid·4 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 Rowan 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 from heavy rain and summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk in Rowan County. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 48 flash flood events resulting in one death, alongside 20 standard flood events resulting in an additional death. Recent history includes a May 2020 event involving slow-moving thunderstorms that triggered water rescues when water surrounded vehicles, as well as a May 2022 event where heavy rain caused swollen creeks, leading to a fatality along Bullfork Road when a utility vehicle attempted to cross high waters.
Property owners and real estate professionals should note that National Flood Insurance Program claims are heavily concentrated in designated high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for the vast majority of historical claims with 256 filings, averaging an 8-inch recorded water depth and an average payout of $20,115. However, properties outside standard high-risk zones also experience losses; for instance, 15 claims were recorded in Zone X with an average recorded water depth of 13 inches and an average payout of $13,630, and 11 claims were recorded in Zone X_UNSHADED with an average depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $26,881. Homeowners and buyers outside of Zone A should remain aware of localized flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Rowan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
270 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 8 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 106 claims and $2.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes and Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides.
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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Rowan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 4 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, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
68 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 14, 2022 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2020 | $11,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2020 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2020 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2019 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Dec 16, 2019 | $4,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 14, 2022. Heavy rain occurred in portions of northeast Kentucky on May 14, leading to swollen creeks and streams across the area. While no flash flood reports were received, there was a fatality reported in Rowan County. According to the county EM and rescue squad, an 80-year-old man was on a utility vehicle with his wife, attempting to cross a swollen creek along Bullfork Road. The utility vehicle reportedly got stuck, and…
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2021. A strong low pressure system was present over the Great Lakes region to start the day on July 29th. From this extended a cold front to the southwest. As the low pressure continued eastward throughout the day, the cold front slowly shifted farther southward, before becoming elongated and slowing just north of the Ohio River. This kept much of Kentucky in the warm sector, with a strong push of warm/moist tropical ai…
Flash Flood · May 25, 2020. Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed late this afternoon into this evening. While these were overall weaker than those that occurred over the previous day or two in this persistent summer-like pattern, the slow movement of the storms led to flash flooding issues in Rowan and Bell Counties. Water rescues were performed in each county as water surrounded vehicles, while a tree toppled due to the flowing wate…
Flash Flood · Jul 22, 2019. Numerous rounds of rainfall occurred on this date across the city of Morehead. As a cold frontal boundary approached from the northwest, showers and thunderstorms began to train along and ahead of the boundary as they produced 3 to 4 inch daily rainfall totals across portions of the city. This led to flowing water on highways, including Kentucky Highways 32 and 1167, subsequently leading to road closures. The More…
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 Rowan 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.