16 flood insurance claims·$281,302 paid·5 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 Douglas 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 12 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 2011, with 6 claims and $118,521 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Douglas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms | Mar 21, 1997 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Jan 3, 1997 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
10 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2011 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2005 | — |
| Flood | Jun 23, 2003 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2003 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2002 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2002 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 7, 2001 | $200,000 |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2001 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2011. A complex of thunderstorms that developed across southeast North Dakota, moved into west central Minnesota during the early morning hours of Friday, July 15th. ||Several waves of thunderstorms moved across west central and central Minnesota during the morning, then mainly across east central and south central Minnesota during the afternoon. Due to the tropical type air mass in place, rainfall rates were extremely…
Flash Flood · Apr 7, 2001. The same intense low pressure system that brought high wind to southern Minnesota also dumped a large area of 3 to 4 inches rain across west central and central Minnesota, on top of melting snow and saturated ground. Drainage ditches, still clogged with snow, were unable to accept most of this rain water. About 3000 homes in Stearns County and 500 homes in Benton County sustained water damage to basements. Sever…
Flood · Apr 1, 2001. Heavy snowfall during winter remained on the ground through the end of March and then rapidly melted, resulting in river stages close to record levels. Water began to gush through drainage ditches, streams and into the mainstem rivers during midday April 1. Heavy rain April 7-8 over much of central Minnesota (see corresponding flood entry) prolonged the high water and also added one or two feet to many crests dur…
Flood · Mar 26, 1997. Above normal temperatures during the last week of March began melting a deep snowcover across much of west central into central Minnesota. Snow depth rank was in the 80 to 90th percentile over much of the area measured on 3/20/97. The snowcover had a high moisture content. In addition, a Spring storm deposited a mixture of rain and fresh snow over the area on 3/24/97, immediately preceeding the warm temperature…
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 Douglas 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.