116 flood insurance claims·$2.3M paid·4 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 Bollinger 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 severe weather events dominates the flood history of Bollinger County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 42 flash flood events resulting in 4 deaths, alongside 24 general flood events resulting in 2 deaths. Recent storms illustrate this risk, such as the March 2023 stationary front that dropped 1 to 3 inches of rain, causing widespread flooding of low water crossings in the hilly terrain, and the May 2024 severe weather outbreak that brought bowing lines of storms across Southeast Missouri.
National Flood Insurance Program records reflect these hazards across different zones. Properties in Zone A account for 88 claims with an average payout of $25,940 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Zone X properties have recorded 19 claims with an average payout of $21,187 and an average water depth of 13 inches, while properties with an unknown zone account for 9 claims averaging $1,934 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone X, where historical payouts and average water depths of over a foot indicate significant flood exposure during heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Bollinger County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
88 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 11 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 2008, with 32 claims and $886,200 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, Flooding, and A Tornado.
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.
24 NOAA storm reports from Bollinger County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 30, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 29, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
66 since 1996: 42 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | $25,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2023 | $20.0M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 26, 2024. The second major severe weather outbreak for the month occurred on the 26th for the Quad State region. On the synoptic scale, a shortwave trough centered in the middle of the country with a 60 kt mid-level jet moved across northern Arkansas. A weak surface low was moving into SE Missouri during the morning with a secondary low located further northwest. A warm frontal boundary was draped across our area. A bowing…
Flood · Mar 25, 2023. A nearly stationary front draped itself from central Texas northeast through the Ohio River Valley and produced multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms, some with very heavy rainfall. Scattered showers and thunderstorms resulted in widespread flooding of low water crossings in the hilly terrain of Carter, Wayne, and Bollinger Counties. One to three inches of rain fell across the region with isolated higher am…
Flash Flood · Mar 24, 2023. A nearly stationary front draped itself from central Texas northeast through the Ohio River Valley and produced multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms, some with very heavy rainfall. Scattered showers and thunderstorms resulted in widespread flooding of low water crossings in the hilly terrain of Carter, Wayne, and Bollinger Counties. One to three inches of rain fell across the region with isolated higher am…
Flood · Jan 18, 2023. As cool high pressure moved off to the east, southerly winds brought highs in the 60's and increased moisture to the region. Scattered showers and storms brought brief but heavy downpours that prompted a few instances of minor flooding.
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 Bollinger 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.