1,405 flood insurance claims·$6.8M paid·19 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 Marshall 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.
Flooding in Marshall County is driven primarily by long-duration river floods and periodic flash flooding from summer thunderstorms. NOAA records show 28 general flood events and 18 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include spring snowmelt flooding that began in mid-April 2023 and persisted into early May, as well as a flash flood on July 27, 2024, caused by training thunderstorms and showers along a stalled frontal boundary.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage is heavily concentrated in specific hazard areas. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 781 filed, an average payout of $6,370, and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches. Claims are also recorded in Zone UNKNOWN with 555 claims averaging an average payout of $4,156 and an average water depth of 2 inches, along with minimal claims across Zone X, Zone X_SHADED, and Zone X_UNSHADED where average water depths range from 0 to 4 inches.
Properties located in Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones face the highest risk of structural inundation and should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness and insurance requirements.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Marshall County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
816 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 8 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 463 claims and $3.1M 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Marshall County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 19 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 11, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Flooding | Mar 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2009 |
| Flooding | Mar 30, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2024 | $100 |
| Flood | May 25, 2024 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2020 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Apr 15, 2019 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2024. After a stalled boundary set up across northwestern Minnesota across the river into North Dakota, thunderstorms and showers trained over the same area in the frontal zone, leading to flash flooding in some areas.
Flood · May 25, 2024. Heavy Rain brought on river flooding in late May of 2024 in Minnesota.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2024. Elevated convection along a warm front caused severe winds, hail, and flash flooding in the area.
Flood · Apr 18, 2023. Snowmelt flooding along the Minnesota Tributaries began in mid-April, with a few locations persisting into early May.
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 Marshall 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.