3 flood insurance claims·$103,712 paid
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 Russell 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 slow-moving summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood risk profile in Russell County, accounting for 16 of the 21 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 5 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates these weather patterns. On August 6, 2022, slow-moving thunderstorms driven by exceptionally moist air produced multiple instances of flash flooding as storms lingered for several hours. Earlier, a stalled frontal boundary brought heavy rainfall and record-breaking regional precipitation from February 26 to February 28, 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have occurred in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas. Zone A properties experienced 2 claims with an average payout of $48,452 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X properties recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $6,807 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate professionals managing properties within Zone A, as well as those located in low-lying areas susceptible to intense rainfall accumulation, should pay the closest attention to these localized flood risks.
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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Russell County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1971.
| 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, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 6, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
21 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Nov 28, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2022. Multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms moved across Kentucky between July 6th and July 8th. The main focus for convection was areas along and just south of a quasi-stationary surface front, initially positioned from west to east across central Indiana on July 6th. Each afternoon, thunderstorms developed in the unstable airmass, gradually pushing south and east before dissipating quickly after loss of da…
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2022. Multiple waves of showers and thunderstorms moved across central Kentucky on August 6th and 7th as an exceptionally moist environment promoted the development of precipitation across the region. Precipitable water values approaching 2 inches remained over the area both days, and a lack of significant large-scale forcing kept storm motions fairly slow. As a result, multiple instances of flash flooding were observed…
Flood · Feb 28, 2021. A stalled frontal boundary brought waves of heavy rainfall to central Kentucky from February 26 through February 28. This caused record rainfall, isolated severe winds, and even a tornado. As a result, Bowling Green set a February daily rainfall record with 5.11 on the 28th. The severe winds brought down some trees and a power pole, but the most property damage came from a brief EF1 tornado.
Flash Flood · Feb 23, 2019. On February 19, 2019, a broad upper trough dipped south to the Gulf of Mexico and carried abundant amounts of moisture towards the Ohio Valley. Once the moisture was transport was underway, isentropic lift caused 1.5 to 3 of rainfall along the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. The higher amounts went as far north as south central Indiana.||On the 20th, an upper trough axis and cold front pushed through southern…
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 Russell 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.