3 flood insurance claims·$27,938 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 Dallas 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 dominates the flood history of Dallas County, Missouri, driven by frequent heavy downpours compared to standard river overflows. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 102 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 48 general flood events resulting in 1 death.
Severe storms bring heavy rainfall amounts capable of producing significant flash flooding across the region, as demonstrated by multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms in April 2025 that brought pockets of 8 to 12 inches of rain to southern Missouri. Federal flood insurance data reveals that property risk exists across different designations. NFIP records show 2 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $13,969 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches, and 1 claim in Zone A with a $0 average payout and an average recorded water depth of 99 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in Zone A and Zone X, as well as structures lacking a designated Base Flood Elevation, given that both moderate-to-low risk and high-risk zones have experienced recorded water damage and claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 41 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.
48 NOAA storm reports from Dallas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 3, 2020 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Aug 2, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
150 since 1996: 102 flash floods and 48 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 8, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 20, 2025. Slow moving storms produced heavy rainfall across portions of the Ozarks causing flooding of multiple low water areas. The initial storms that develop the evening of the 18th were able to take advantage at limited shear and instability to produce a brief EF0 tornado and localized wind damage.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. A tropical like airmass allow for thunderstorms to produce very heavy rainfall across southern Missouri during the afternoon and evening of June 15th. Several roads were closed due to flooding.
Flood · May 8, 2025. An estimated 0.25 to 0.50 inches of rainfall occurred on May 8, 2025. A moped was driven into a low water crossing before being swept away into Lindley Creek. This ultimately led to a fatality.
Flood · Jul 8, 2025. An isolated and slow moving thunderstorm moved across Cedar, Polk and Dallas counties and produced hail to the size of nickels and localized 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 Dallas 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.