35 flood insurance claims·$493,376 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 Brown 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.
River flooding and localized urban high water dominate Brown County, supported by 15 general flood events compared to 4 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Spring snowmelt and heavy rainfall frequently drive these conditions, as seen in March 2019 when above-average snowpack and subsequent rapid warming led to severe spring flooding along regional rivers and tributaries. Prolonged heavy rainfall also causes localized urban impacts, such as in May 2023 when a slow-moving system produced heavy rainfall and localized flooding with standing water reported in Comfrey, Minnesota.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A face the highest financial exposure, accounting for 18 claims with an average payout of $31,095 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X and Shaded Zone X have recorded 17 combined claims with lower average payouts between $3,699 and $4,126, and average recorded water depths of 66 inches and 0 inches respectively. Residents situated near rivers, tributaries, and low-lying urban areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
28% of Brown County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
25 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 9 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 13 claims and $80,256 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms and Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Brown County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 15, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 17, 2010 |
| Flooding | Mar 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 12, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jul 3, 2018 | $385,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2014 | $850,000 |
| Flood | Mar 21, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 12, 2023. A slow moving system produced thunderstorms and heavy rainfall as result from a Trough of Warm Air Aloft (TROWAL) region of an upper low over South Central Minnesota. Due to the prolonged duration of heavy rainfall across the region, some localities experienced localized urban flooding. Brown County Emergency Management reported feet of water in the city of Comfrey, MN. ||Overall, the highest observed rainfall tot…
Flood · Mar 17, 2019. There were many factors that led to a severe Spring flood melt along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers and several of their tributaries during the last two weeks of March. The first factor was above average snowpack, especially over the Minnesota River Valley for mid March. Additionally, the added effect of a cold late Winter kept this snowpack deeper into the early Spring. Once temperatures warmed, and snow be…
Flood · Jul 3, 2018. During the overnight hours of Tuesday, July 3rd, a persistent line of storms, with rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, moved very little from Marshall to Redwood Falls, Olivia, then southward to Tracy, Lamberton, and Springfield, Minnesota. The heaviest rainfall held over the Redwood, and Cottonwood river basin for several hours. Several of the flash flooding parameters, including flash flood guidance, and r…
Flash Flood · Jun 17, 2016. A large complex of thunderstorms developed across North Dakota during the early morning of Friday, June 17th. These storms moved eastward across eastern North Dakota and produced a large area of severe winds and hail. ||As the storms moved into northwest Minnesota Friday morning, a small line started to form and move southeast toward central Minnesota. Several reports of large hail occurred in Todd County before m…
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 Brown 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.