24 flood insurance claims·$915,352 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 Simpson 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Simpson County, Kentucky. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 52 flash flood events compared to 10 general flood events, with the latter resulting in 4 deaths. Recent historical records illustrate this hazard, such as the flash flood events driven by hot and humid summertime patterns in June 2025, which featured temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s alongside high instability.
Federal insurance data underscores that flood risks extend beyond designated high-risk flood areas. National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple zones, including 10 claims in Zone X averaging $39,772 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, and 9 claims in Zone A averaging $66,802 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Additionally, 3 claims were recorded in Zone X_UNSHADED with an average payout of $68,820 and an average water depth of 2 inches, alongside 2 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging $2,645 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in both high-risk zones like Zone A and moderate-to-lower risk zones like Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED, where historical claims demonstrate that significant water depths and property damage still occur.
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 4 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 2025, with 8 claims and $478,681 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
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.
28 NOAA storm reports from Simpson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 2 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, 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 Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 15, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
62 since 1996: 52 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2022 | — · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2025. A typical hot and humid summertime pattern was in place across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on June 26th and 27th, with temperatures warming into the upper 80s and low 90s both afternoons. This allowed for the development of at least 4000 J/kg SBCAPE across central Kentucky, setting up a strongly unstable environment. Overall, forcing was weak over this time period, with upper level ridging spread out across mos…
Flood · Jun 27, 2025. A typical hot and humid summertime pattern was in place across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on June 26th and 27th, with temperatures warming into the upper 80s and low 90s both afternoons. This allowed for the development of at least 4000 J/kg SBCAPE across central Kentucky, setting up a strongly unstable environment. Overall, forcing was weak over this time period, with upper level ridging spread out across mos…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on February 15th and 16th, 2025, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding, severe weather, and winter weather to central Kentucky. The large scale upper level pattern featured deep troughing ejecting across the central CONUS, with broad southwesterly flow occurring in the low and mid troposphere. Southerly flow helped to draw rich moisture up from the G…
Flash Flood · Apr 3, 2025. On the night of April 2nd, 2025, a cold front approached the lower Ohio Valley. Along and ahead of the cold front, numerous supercells developed over southern Illinois and western Kentucky. These storms tracked eastward and occasionally grew upscale into a QLCS with bowing segments. Storms lasted all night and into the morning hours, as the cold front began to stall over the lower Ohio Valley. These storms left be…
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 Simpson 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.