1,074 flood insurance claims·$11.0M paid·6 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 Cape Girardeau 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.
Regular flooding dominates Cape Girardeau County, accounting for 137 out of 190 recorded events over the last 30 years, complemented by 53 flash flood events. Recent regional activity includes heavy rainfall and minor flooding from thunderstorms in February 2025, alongside severe weather outbreaks and torrential rainfall fueled by Hurricane Beryl in May and July 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A recording the highest volume at 872 claims with an average payout of $12,003 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X properties also experienced notable impacts, including 43 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $23,971 and an average water depth of 6 inches, 46 claims in Zone X Shaded averaging $7,345 with a 7-inch average water depth, and 36 claims in Zone X Unshaded averaging $7,417 with a 10-inch average water depth. Additionally, 77 claims were recorded in Zone Unknown with an average payout of $8,236 and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists in Cape Girardeau County should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A and various Zone X designations, where historical claims demonstrate both frequent occurrences and significant average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Cape Girardeau County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
954 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 6 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 1986, with 201 claims and $3.2M paid.
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.
63 NOAA storm reports from Cape Girardeau County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 30, 2025 |
| 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 | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
190 since 1996: 53 flash floods and 137 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 5, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Jan 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall (2-5) as they streamed northeast across southeast Missouri in the afternoon and evening of the 15th. The greatest rainfall amounts were near the Mississippi River in New Madrid and Mississippi counties. Minor flooding of city streets occurred in the city of New Madrid and along numerous state highways and county Roads. The heavy rain caused a retaining wall to coll…
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…
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2024. Convection developed during the afternoon of the 8th with activity most widespread between 1200-1700CST. PW values of 2-2.25 inches, bolstered by moisture from Hurricane Beryl to the southwest, resulted in torrential rainfall rates that produced isolated flooding issues. Additionally, a landspout formed south of I-57 in Mississippi County, reported via several photos and videos. Effective bulk shear was roughly 30…
Flood · Jul 5, 2024. Elevated water levels flowing down the Mississippi River from locations north of the Quad State resulted in minor flooding on the Mississippi in Southeast Missouri from early to mid July. Impacts were mostly limited to low-lying agricultural areas.
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 Cape Girardeau 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.