12 flood insurance claims·$66,215 paid·11 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 Sibley 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.
Flood risk in Sibley County is dominated by standard river and general floods, supplemented by significant flash flood events from summer thunderstorms. NOAA records show 15 flood events compared to 10 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall and flooding reported in June 2024, as well as slow-moving thunderstorm complexes and torrential rain causing flash flooding in June and July 2020.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have occurred in both mapped and unmapped areas. Zone X accounts for 8 claims with an average payout of $9,881 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone A accounts for 3 claims with an average payout of $3,465 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while one claim was recorded in an unknown zone with $0 payout and 0 inches of recorded water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within both Zone X and Zone A, as historical claims and water depths are distributed across these designations during severe summer storm events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 4 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 2014, with 3 claims and $39,527 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Sibley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 15, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 14, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 22, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2014 | $3.9M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Mar 21, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2024. A complex of thunderstorms moved across the region on Sunday, June 16. Later that evening and overnight another complex of thunderstorms developed over south central Minnesota.
Flood · Jun 2, 2024. On Sunday evening June 2 and into Monday June 3, a round of strong storms developed across eastern SD and southwestern MN along a stationary boundary. These storms produced a brief tornado in Renville County, wind damage in Morrison County, and small hail in Stevens County. There were also 3 to 4 inches of heavy rain in central Minnesota, with flooding reported in Todd and Sibley Counties.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2020. During the evening of Sunday, June 28th, a complex of thunderstorms that developed across Iowa previously, moved slowly northward across southern Minnesota before stalling in central Minnesota Monday morning. Before the torrential rain began in south central Minnesota, a few of the storms caused minor damage to a home in Sibley County. ||Deep moisture convergence along the axis of thunderstorms, training along the…
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2020. A very anomalous moist atmosphere was in place for this flash flood event to develop. Precipitable water values (PWATs) were over 2 inches across southern Minnesota which is well over climatological normals. The 2.25 inches of precipitable water tallied from the 7 PM weather balloon launch at Chanhassen was just below record record levels for the day and was above the 95th percentile for this time of year. ||There…
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 Sibley 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.