6 flood insurance claims·$156,657 paid·2 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 Harrison 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 Harrison County, Missouri. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 17 flash flood events compared to 3 general flood events. Heavy seasonal rains frequently trigger rapid inundation across the area, as demonstrated by severe weather systems in June 2021 and May 2019 that brought widespread flash flooding to northern Missouri alongside regional tornado activity.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims are concentrated in high-risk areas, with Zone A accounting for 6 claims averaging $26,110 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where historical flood insurance claims and recorded water depths demonstrate direct vulnerability to rising waters.
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 2 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 2 claims and $15,123 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Harrison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2014 |
| Severe Winter Storm | 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Sep 29, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 28, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2025. Storms bring damaging wind gusts, heavy rain, and flooding to portions of NW and north central Missouri.
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…
Flood · Sep 29, 2019. Several areas had flash flooding after 3 to 5 inches of rain fell across the area. The worst of the flooding came from Harrisonville, where several business were inundated under several feet of water.
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 2019. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms produced flash flooding, hail round 1 inch, and gusty winds that caused some minor damage.
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 Harrison 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.