1,455 flood insurance claims·$36.3M paid·17 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 Polk 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 dominate the historical record in Polk County, with NOAA Storm Events Database records detailing 38 flash flood events and 24 flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include widespread thunderstorms in the early morning hours of June 18, 2024, and spring snowmelt flooding that began in late April 2023 and persisted into early May.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest concentration and severity occurring in Zone A, which accounts for 918 claims with an average payout of $32,241 and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Shaded Zone X properties have also experienced significant water accumulation, averaging 42 inches of recorded water depth across 289 claims with an average payout of $25,668. Standard Zone X properties recorded an average depth of 9 inches across 129 claims, while unshaded Zone X properties recorded an average depth of 6 inches across 68 claims.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Shaded Zone X, as these areas carry the highest volume of historical claims and the deepest average water levels.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
28% of Polk County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,275 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 27 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 1,019 claims and $33.9M 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Polk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 17 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 15, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 17, 2010 |
| 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.
62 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 29, 2024 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2024 | $500 |
| Flood | May 25, 2024 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 22, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 23, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 29, 2024. An 850mb jet aided in the development of thunderstorm clusters in the morning hours of August 29th. Wind was the main threat, with some reports of flash flooding from heavy rainfall.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2024. An 850mb jet aided in the development of thunderstorm clusters in the morning hours of August 29th. Wind was the main threat, with some reports of flash flooding from heavy rainfall.
Flood · May 25, 2024. Heavy Rain brought on river flooding in late May of 2024 in Minnesota.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2024. Widespread thunderstorms affected eastern ND and northwestern MN in the early morning hours of June 18th.
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 Polk 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.