26 flood insurance claims·$226,363 paid·4 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 Isanti 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 1 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 2001, with 7 claims and $101,777 paid, the year of Severe Winter 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 Isanti County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 1, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, High Winds, Flooding | Jun 28, 1997 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Aug 1, 1972 |
| Flooding | Apr 18, 1969 |
| Flooding | Apr 11, 1965 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
7 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 12, 2005 | — |
| Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2002 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2001 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 1997 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2022. Thunderstorms that originally developed across the Arrowhead of Minnesota early Wednesday morning, August 17th, created a boundary farther southward across east-central Minnesota. This boundary, with daytime heating leading to more instability, caused additional thunderstorms to develop. Due to weak winds aloft, these storms drifted southward but continued to redevelop on the west side. This led to storms training…
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…
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 1997. Severe thunderstorms deposited very heavy rainfall on portions of the Twin Cities metropolitan area in a short period of time resulting in severe basement and street flooding and a number of collapsed basements. Heavy rainfall amounts in less than one hour included 5.2 inches at Woodbury, 4.5 inches at Brooklyn Center, 3.5 inches at St. Louis Park, 3.4 inches at Stillwater, 3.0 inches in Lauderdale and 2.9 inches…
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 Isanti 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.