328 flood insurance claims·$5.4M 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 Cass 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 Cass County, Missouri, accounting for 57 of the 72 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 15 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates this pattern. On April 28, 2021, heavy rain moved through the Kansas City Metro, inundating local roadways with running water. Severe weather continued into the summer, including a line of storms that produced minor flash flooding on the morning of May 27, 2021, and a cluster of storms that brought heavy rainfall late in the afternoon and evening on June 24, 2021.
NFIP claim records demonstrate that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A experienced the highest frequency with 216 claims, averaging a payout of $17,250 with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 73 claims with a higher average payout of $36,029 and an average water depth of 6 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both high-risk flood zones and standard-risk areas should pay close attention to this combined threat of frequent flash flooding and property damage.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Cass County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
248 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 2017, with 54 claims and $1.6M 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Cass County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 12, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 8, 2007 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 5, 2007 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Mar 8, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
72 since 1996: 57 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jul 30, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jul 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2021. Heavy rain produced some marginal flash flooding in Miami County Kansas and nearby Bates County Missouri.
Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2021. After heavy rain moved through the Kansas City Metro several local roadways were inundated with running water.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2021. On the morning of May 27 a line of storms moved through northwest Missouri, producing some damaging winds, along with some minor flash flooding. In the afternoon the clouds cleared out, and a second round of severe thunderstorms formed, this time bringing some large hail, along with damaging winds.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 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…
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 Cass 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.