95 flood insurance claims·$754,787 paid·11 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 Aitkin County, Minnesota. 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 and river flooding from summer thunderstorms and stationary weather boundaries equally dominate the flood history of Aitkin County, with 16 flood events and 16 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events, such as those driven by training storms in June 2018 and a warm front in September 2019, have produced torrential downpours, saturated soils, closed roads, and flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating risk extends beyond traditional high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 63 claims, averaging an $13,207 payout with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in Zone X have also experienced impacts, recording 13 claims with an average payout of $8,133 and an average water depth of 7 inches, alongside 13 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging a $543 payout and 2 inches of average water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, as well as those in Zone X and unshaded Zone X areas where historical claims and standing water depths indicate potential vulnerability to severe summer rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Aitkin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
67 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 7 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 2012, with 56 claims and $661,320 paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Aitkin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 11, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 15, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 14, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Winds, And Flooding | Jul 4, 1999 |
| Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms | Mar 21, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 16 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 14, 2020. A strong cold front pushed across Minnesota the evening of the 14th and led to the development of a line of storms ahead of the front. As the storms pushed across northeastern Minnesota, they produced all modes of severe weather. Heavy rainfall led to areas of flash flooding, mainly along the western Iron Range. The bulk of the severe reports consisted of damaging wind gusts that brought down numerous trees, leadi…
Flash Flood · Sep 30, 2019. A warm front set up over the region during the early morning hours of the 30th. Torrential rainfall was reported overnight leading to saturated soils in the area. Additional showers and thunderstorms moved over these same areas during the late morning and early afternoon hours and led to isolated areas of flash flooding where water over the roadway led to closed roads.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2019. A complex of thunderstorms formed overnight in northern Minnesota then tracked southeast through the early morning hours along an instability gradient. Large hail and wind damage were observed with this system, but due to it occurring during the early morning hours, most of the damage reports were not received until the next morning. Heavy rainfall also led to some isolated flash flooding as well.
Flash Flood · May 24, 2018. A warm front and a low level jet combined to produce persistent storms the night of the 24th. Radar estimates of 3-5.5 over parts of east-central Minnesota led to isolated flash flooding.
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 Aitkin 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.