623 flood insurance claims·$22.5M paid·9 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 Buchanan 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.
River flooding from standard flood events dominates Buchanan County, Missouri, accounting for 99 recorded incidents alongside 22 flash flood events, which resulted in 1 death over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. Severe weather often triggers these conditions, as demonstrated on July 7, 2022, when heavy early morning rains caused isolated flash flooding that required a water rescue in St. Joseph. Similar heavy rainfall systems impacted the region in late July 2020, bringing multi-day moderate to heavy rain and road closures.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest concentration occurring in high-risk riverine areas. Zone A accounts for 471 claims with an average payout of $44,920 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties mapped to Zone X unshaded recorded an average water depth of 14 inches across 45 claims, while Zone X shaded recorded an average water depth of 3 inches across 63 claims.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A and designated Zone X areas, as these zones record the highest volume of historical flood insurance claims and significant average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Buchanan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
579 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 9 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 1993, with 135 claims and $3.1M paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Buchanan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 24, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 11, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 12, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
121 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 99 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 7, 2022. Heavy rain moved through northern Missouri during the early morning hours on July 7. While there were no notable impacts across the area, there was some isolated flash flooding, which resulted in a water rescue in St. Joseph.
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2021. Late in the afternoon, and through the evening hours on June 24 a cluster of storms over southeast Nebraska congealed into a line of thunderstorms that focused across northern Missouri. Most notably within this line of storms was a cluster of QLCS tornadoes that formed in Grundy County. There may have been other tornadoes associated with circulations that were noted on radar, but emergency management confirmed dam…
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2020. Throughout the final few days of the month a mid level trough dug into the central part of the CONUS, and produced several rounds of moderate to heavy rain. Several areas reported well over 6 inches of rain over the 2 day period, with the high values occurring in Johnson County Missouri where almost 10 inches of rain over the 36-48 period was reported. Most of the flooding was minor and little to no damage was rep…
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2020. Some storms moved into western Missouri, bringing some small hail and isolated minor flooding. No damage was reported with these storms.
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 Buchanan 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.