799 flood insurance claims·$11.1M paid·8 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 Clay 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.
Flooding in Clay County, Missouri is characterized by a nearly even distribution of river floods and flash floods, with 66 flood events and 63 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent historic events illustrate these hazards. In June 2019, heavy late winter and spring precipitation combined with a snowpack caused prolonged Missouri River flooding that lasted for several weeks. Earlier, on May 28, 2019, severe weather brought widespread flash flooding to the area, alongside an EF-2 tornado that damaged portions of Kearney in northeastern Clay County. Minor flash flooding also forced brief road closures on May 28, 2020.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends beyond high-risk areas. While Zone A recorded the highest volume of claims with 446 claims averaging $18,558 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, significant claims also occurred in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas. Homeowners in designated high-risk riverine zones and properties located within moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to flood risk, as hundreds of claims and recorded water depths averaging 4 to 6 inches have been documented outside of primary flood zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
39% of Clay County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
733 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 4 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 1982, with 207 claims and $1.7M 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.
24 NOAA storm reports from Clay County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 29, 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 | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 8, 2007 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 5, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
129 since 1996: 63 flash floods and 66 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 24, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 24, 2022. After some heavy rain Highway 69 in Mosby had several inches of water over the road.
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…
Flash Flood · May 28, 2020. On the morning of May 28 there was some minor flash flooding, causing some roads in the area to shut down briefly.
Flash Flood · May 28, 2019. Widespread severe weather moved through the region on May 28. One supercell produced several tornadoes, including the Lawrence to Linwood, Kansas tornado. This storm then went on to produce an EF-2 tornado in northeastern Clay County and did damage to portions of Kearney, Missouri. Earlier in the day, through the morning and early afternoon hours several storms moved through northern Missouri causing widespread fl…
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 Clay 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.