21 flood insurance claims·$530,725 paid·3 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 Adair County, Missouri. 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 dominates the flood profile of Adair County, accounting for 33 of the 47 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside 14 general flood events. Severe weather can strike rapidly, as demonstrated by storms on August 4, 2023, and July 10, 2021, which brought heavy convection, low-end wind damage, and localized flooding to the region. Other notable periods include the spring of 2019, when multi-month river flooding and levee breaches impacted parts of the broader region through April and May, accompanied by minor flash flooding in late May.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that high-risk Zone A bears the brunt of financial impacts, logging 15 claims with an average payout of $30,532 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. However, property owners outside designated high-risk zones should also take note, as 3 claims occurred in Zone X_UNSHADED with an average payout of $42,908 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while a single claim in Zone X_SHADED averaged a $5,090 payout with 0 inches of recorded water depth. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas where historical claims and standing water depths indicate tangible financial and structural exposure.
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 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 2023, with 6 claims and $293,626 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Adair County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 29, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2014 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 12, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
47 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 4, 2023. On the afternoon and evening of August 4th, severe storms developed over western Missouri and moved eastward into central Missouri. A supercell produced a 4.5 mile long EF0 tornado in rural Ray County near the community of Millville, with another supercell producing a 1.5 mile long EF0 near Malta Bend in Saline County. A few other wind damage and 60 mph wind gusts reports were received with these storms.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2021. Overnight convection brought into northwest Missouri a strong storm complex from southeast Nebraska. Overall, this system produced low end wind damage across far northern Missouri. Several hours later, in the evening of the 10th strong storms moved through, but the bulk of the severe weather reports came from the Kansas side of the forecast area.
Flash Flood · May 26, 2019. A couple rounds of strong to severe storms moved through the region, with some minor flash flooding and marginal severe weather.
Flood · Apr 1, 2019. The flooding that began in mid March along the Missouri River continued through April and into May. Some areas experienced record flooding from this event, and several levees broke within the time span of this event.
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 Adair 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.