99 flood insurance claims·$753,114 paid·6 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 Fillmore 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 from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood character of Fillmore County, accounting for 34 out of 48 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 14 general flood events.
Recent history highlights these localized threats. On June 22, 2024, slow-moving thunderstorms produced flooding that resulted in multiple road closures. Later, heavy rains from Tropical Depression Cristobal brought 1 to 3 inches of rain—with locally higher amounts of 4 to 5 inches—causing mudslides near Whalan that impacted State Highway 16 on June 9, 2020.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay the closest attention to locations within FEMA Zone A, which has accumulated the vast majority of historical National Flood Insurance Program claims in the county with 80 claims averaging an 13-inch recorded water depth and an average payout of $8,420. While fewer claims are recorded in other areas, properties in unshaded Zone X zones have experienced higher average claim payouts of $27,403 with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, indicating that significant localized risk extends beyond high-risk riverine zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of Fillmore County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
93 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 11 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 2000, with 23 claims and $140,806 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.
27 NOAA storm reports from Fillmore County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 6 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 And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 6, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 18, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 17, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
48 since 1996: 34 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2019 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2019 | $35,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2018 | $210,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2024. During the early morning hours on June 22nd, a slow moving line of thunderstorms produced flooding resulting in several road closures. Most notably Interstate 90 was closed in Mower County due to water over the road.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2020. Heavy rains from Tropical Depression Cristobal fell across southeast Minnesota on June 9th. Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches were common with locally higher amounts of 4 to 5 inches. This heavy rain created some flash flooding with mudslides across portions of Fillmore and Winona Counties. Mudslides occurred near Whalan (Fillmore County) that impacted State Highway 16. Mudslides also occurred near Elba and Whitewa…
Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2019. Thunderstorms with very heavy rain moved very slowly across southeast Minnesota during the early morning hours of June 28th. These storms dumped between 3 and 7 inches of rain that resulted in flash flooding occurring in Dodge, Olmsted and Fillmore Counties. The Rochester International Airport (Olmsted County) was closed when water covered the runways. Numerous roads were underwater and between 40 and 60 cows were…
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2019. Several rounds of thunderstorms moved across southeast Minnesota during the late evening of July 18th into the early morning of July 19th. As the initial round of storms moved through, a brief tornado touched down east of Witoka (Winona County). The tornado damaged a house and numerous trees. These storms dropped between 3 and 5 inches of rain across portions of Winona and Houston Counties. Runoff from this heavy…
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 Fillmore 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.