21 flood insurance claims·$172,998 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 Kanabec 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 3 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 2016, with 9 claims and $114,228 paid.
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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Kanabec County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
11 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 15, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 1, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Aug 1, 1972 |
| Flooding | Apr 18, 1969 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
11 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2018 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2017 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2002 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Jul 8, 2002 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2002 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2018. A line of thunderstorms that developed in northern Minnesota, sagged southward into central Minnesota during the morning of Thursday, July 12th. High rainfall rates, and training of the storms, caused up to five inches of rain (based on radar) in less than three hours in northern Kanabec County. This amount of rainfall produced flash flooding, and local officials indicated damage to many county roads throughout th…
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2017. A small complex of severe storms drifted southward across northern Kanabec County and produced a swath of large hail, torrential rainfall and flooding. The hail lasted nearly an hour in some spots, with damaging hail generally from the Knife Lake area northeast to the Pomroy Lake area. Flooding was also reported, with damage to area roads.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2016. The morning of Monday, July 11th, two waves of thunderstorms moved across west central and central Minnesota. Very heavy rainfall and isolated hail occurred with the main area of storms. But these storms also produced a wide area of one half to two inches of rain by sunrise. ||The morning two events set the stage for flooding in central Minnesota as several additional waves of thunderstorms developed during the af…
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…
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 Kanabec 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.