50 flood insurance claims·$613,364 paid·7 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 Morrison 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 and general flooding from spring snowmelt shape the flood risk in Morrison County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 11 flash flood events and 9 general flood events. Recent incidents include a flash flood on June 23, 2022, caused by excessive rainfall from back-building storms, and a near-record snowpack melt that triggered widespread flooding beginning on April 11, 2023. Another significant flash flood occurred on June 29, 2020, when stationary thunderstorms dropped rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, resulting in over 7 inches of rain around Little Falls and a peak total of 9.08 inches just south of the area.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that losses have affected multiple zones. Zone X_UNSHADED accounts for 33 claims with an average payout of $17,655 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A accounts for 10 claims with an average payout of $19,973 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 4 claims averaging $1,720 with an average water depth of 0 inches, while Zone X recorded 3 claims averaging $1,208 with an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk, as these zones have experienced the highest frequency of claims and greater average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
79% of Morrison County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
47 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 2 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 2020, with 12 claims and $216,678 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Morrison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 11, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2013 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Mn - Carlos Edge Fire Complex - 10/19/2000 | Oct 19, 2000 |
| Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms | Mar 21, 1997 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | $149,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2022 | $1.5M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2012 | — |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 16, 2010 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 11, 2023. A near-record snowfall season across Minnesota and Wisconsin led to a snowpack with snow-water-equivilent (SWE) values of 4 to 6 inches across much of the region by mid-March. Below normal temperatures for the first of of spring kept much of the snowpack in tact until the end of the month when it started to melt.||The melt accelerated in early April. On April 08, highs were in the 60s across the region. On April 0…
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2022. During the late afternoon, and early evening of Thursday, June 23rd, a small complex of storms developed in central Minnesota. These storms were developing along an 850mb confluent boundary with an above normal plume of PWATs of 1.25. Due to a high freezing level, a sounding profile suggesting efficient warm-rain processes dominated. With back-building storms across central Minnesota, rainfall amounts were excess…
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2020. The remnants of a thunderstorm complex that produced flash flooding earlier across parts of southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin, had reformed over central Minnesota during the evening of Monday, June 29th. A nearly stationary band of thunderstorms that was producing rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, held over parts of Morrison County for several hours. There were several reports of rainfall amounts o…
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2019. Several storms congealed in central Minnesota during the late afternoon, and early evening across Morrison County. These storms produced severe hail, some up to ping pong ball size near Little Falls. They also produced widespread areas of downed trees and power lines. There was a measured wind gust of 73 MPH near Pierz. In addition, torrential rainfall led to flash flooding at Camp Ripley.
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 Morrison 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.