5 flood insurance claims·$340,500 paid·3 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 Hickory 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 floods and general floods from severe weather dominate the recorded flood history of Hickory County, Missouri. Over the last thirty years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 51 flash flood events and 42 general flood events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard. Severe thunderstorms on April 2, 2024, brought damaging winds, hail, and multiple tornadoes alongside heavy rainfall. Later that year, two rounds of thunderstorms on June 9, 2024, dropped 3 to 6 inches of rainfall overnight, causing significant flash flooding and numerous water rescues. Slow-moving storms on April 20, 2025, produced heavy rainfall that flooded multiple low-water areas across the Ozarks.
Properties situated within high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas, specifically Zone A, should pay the most attention to these risks. FEMA records show that Zone A properties in the county experienced 5 claims with an average payout of $68,100 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should review elevation certificates and insurance requirements for properties located in these low-lying and flood-prone zones.
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 18 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.
38 NOAA storm reports from Hickory County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 3 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 | Dec 23, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
93 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 42 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 20, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 23, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 5, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 4, 2022 | — |
— = 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.
Flood · Apr 29, 2024. Another round of thunderstorms produced additional heavy rainfall and flooding. A severe storm moved across northern Stone County producing a brief EF-0 tornado. Additional wind damage occurred across Cedar and Dade counties.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2024. Two rounds of thunderstorms affected the Missouri Ozarks beginning on the evening of June 8th and continued through the morning of June 9th. Severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds occurred with both rounds. Significant flash flooding occurred overnight where 3-6 inches of rainfall occurred. Numerous water rescues occurred.
Flood · Mar 8, 2024. A swath of 2 to 4 inches of rainfall fell from March 7th to March 8th to the northwest of Springfield. Minor flooding of low water crossings occurred.
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 Hickory 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.