43 flood insurance claims·$700,043 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 Trimble 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 rainfall events dominates the local flood risk profile, accounting for 27 of the 37 recorded flood events in the last 30 years alongside 10 general flood events. Localized convective storms and heavy rainfall have repeatedly triggered significant water accumulation, such as the warm summer night on June 19, 2021, when an unstable atmosphere drove heavy rain and isolated flooding across Trimble County. Riverine flooding also occurs, driven by regional systems like the repeated rounds of moderate to heavy rainfall that totaled 8 to 9 inches across the Ohio River basin from February 15 to February 28, 2018, pushing the Ohio River into moderate to major flood stage.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims concentrated heavily in designated special flood hazard areas, led by Zone A with 28 claims averaging $31,053 and a recorded average water depth of 12 inches. Additional claims occurred in areas with unknown designations and Zone X properties, including three Zone X claims averaging $31,722 with an average recorded water depth of 11 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A, near streams and creeks, or along the Ohio River should pay the most attention to this flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Trimble County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
29 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 1997, with 14 claims and $186,795 paid, the year of Severe Storm, Flooding, 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Trimble County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
22 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, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide | Jul 11, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Feb 29, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 24, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2015 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2022. During the afternoon and evening hours on September 3rd, a combination of ample moisture and sufficient instability provided the necessary ingredients for widespread convection, resulting in locally heavy rainfall and isolated wind damage reports. On the synoptic scale, a weak mid-level disturbance was located across the mid-Mississippi Valley, with a surface low located across western Kentucky. Ahead of this dist…
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2021. During a warm summer night with a highly unstable atmosphere (2,000 - 3, 000 J/kg CAPE), an axis of heavy rain moved across southern Indiana and north central Kentucky. This caused isolated flooding in Trimble County.
Flash Flood · Feb 24, 2018. A stalled frontal boundary interacting with highly anomalous moisture from the Gulf of Mexico interacted with multiple weather systems that brought widespread heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms to central Kentucky February 24 through the early morning hours February 25. A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for Jefferson County, KY including Louisville metro. There were over 50 water rescues alone in Jefferson C…
Flood · Feb 23, 2018. Repeated rounds of moderate to heavy rainfall across the entire Ohio River basin totaled between 8 to 9 inches across central Kentucky from February 15 to February 28. These totals were generally 7+ inches, or 200 to 400% of normal values for mid to late February. The large areal extent of the excessive rainfall led to significant rises on area rivers, including the Ohio River. The Ohio River along the Indiana and…
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 Trimble 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.