92 flood insurance claims·$834,294 paid·9 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 Big Stone 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.
Riverine and general floods resulting from heavy summer rainfall dominate the flood history of Big Stone County, Minnesota, accounting for 18 of the 22 recorded events in the last 30 years alongside three flash floods and one lakeshore flood. Recent events illustrate this pattern, such as in June 2024 when heavy rainfall on saturated soils produced $20,000 in flood-related damage in Artichoke Township. Heavy precipitation continued into summer 2025, including a June event where 5.42 inches of rain recorded in Ortonville caused Meadowbrook Creek to top local roads, cutting off residents in Meadowbrook Green and flooding roadways like Highways 7 and 75.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA flood zones, particularly Zone A, which accounts for the majority of local National Flood Insurance Program claims with 61 filed, an average payout of $11,463, and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties in Zone X and Zone X Unshaded also carry risk, having recorded 31 total claims with average payouts ranging from $5,781 to $11,292 and average water depths of 1 to 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of Big Stone County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
71 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 5 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 30 claims and $303,349 paid, the year of 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Big Stone County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 9 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 Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Flooding | Mar 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 3 flash floods, 18 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 28, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2024 | $332,000 |
| Flood | Apr 15, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 28, 2025. Storms moving from northeast South Dakota generated strong winds in west-central Minnesota. Heavy rainfall from these and previous storms also resulted in localized flooding.
Flood · Jun 16, 2025. A broad area of storms and rain inundated parts of western Minnesota. The COOP in Ortonville would record 5.42 inches of rainfall between June 12th and June 13th. ||Flooding would impact many small streams and creeks in the area. Big Stone County Sheriff indicated flooding over many roadways including Highways 7 and 75. Residents and homeowners of Meadowbrook Green were cut off when Meadowbrook Creek topped Mead…
Flash Flood · Jun 13, 2025. A broad area of storms and rain inundated parts of western Minnesota. The COOP in Ortonville would record 5.42 inches of rainfall between June 12th and June 13th. ||Flooding would impact many small streams and creeks in the area. Big Stone County Sheriff indicated flooding over many roadways including Highways 7 and 75. Residents and homeowners of Meadowbrook Green were cut off when Meadowbrook Creek topped Mead…
Flood · Jun 2, 2024. A cluster of thunderstorm generated hail to the size of quarters 13 miles northeast of Ortonville. Heavy rain associated with these storms produced 2.22 inches of moisture measured by the COOP observer in Artichoke Lake. This was on top of 5.83 total inches in May. The heavy rain and runoff from saturated soils produced 20,000 dollars worth of flood related damage across Artichoke Township and 311,656 dollars wort…
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 Big Stone 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.