69 flood insurance claims·$858,615 paid·6 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 Howard 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.
Standard river flooding and general floods dominate the historical record over flash floods, accounting for 83 events compared to 20 flash flood events in the last 30 years.
Historical National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records illustrate these impacts. In June 2020, ongoing moderate to heavy rain caused road closures in central Missouri. Previously, heavy late winter and spring precipitation combined with a snow pack caused the Missouri River to flood in March 2019, with consistent heavy rains sustaining the flooding into and through June, leaving some locations along the Missouri River in major flood for several weeks.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located in Zone A experience the most severe impacts, recording 46 claims with an average payout of $22,671 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X_SHADED properties also recorded an average water depth of 4 inches across 5 claims, with an average payout of $12,388. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN and Zone X recorded fewer claims and lower average payouts and water depths. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and Zone X_SHADED should pay the most attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Howard County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
51 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 3 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 22 claims and $416,345 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Howard County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 24, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 22, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2013 |
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 12, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
103 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 83 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Jul 3, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 9, 2020. A brief tornado formed near I-29 close to the town of Oregon, Missouri. This tornado was filmed, so while video evidence exists, there was no reported damage from this brief tornado. Ongoing moderate to heavy rain caused some roads to be closed in central Missouri through most of the day.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2019. A levee failed along the Missouri River near Petersburg, Missouri. Areas along the north bank of the river became inundated with several feet of running water as the river spilled out of of the levee banks. The towns of Franklin and New Franklin were heaviest impacted with several inches of water running into the towns.
Flood · May 1, 2019. Heavy late winter and spring precipitation, mixed with a loaded snow pack caused the Missouri River to flood in March. Consistent heavy rains continued the Missouri River flooding into and through May. Some locations along the Missouri River were in major flood for several weeks as heavy rains continued.
Flash Flood · Jun 1, 2019. A levee failed along the Missouri River near Petersburg, Missouri. Areas along the north bank of the river became inundated with several feet of running water as the river spilled out of of the levee banks. The towns of Franklin and New Franklin were heaviest impacted with several inches of water running into the towns.
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 Howard 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.