75 flood insurance claims·$3.6M 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 Howell 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 heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Howell County, accounting for 195 events and 6 deaths over the last 30 years alongside 107 standard flood events.
Recent history illustrates this severe hazard. Multiple rounds of storms between April 4th and April 6th, 2025, dropped 8 to 10 inches of rain—with localized amounts up to 12 inches—across southern Missouri, causing significant flash flooding, minor to moderate river flooding, and two fatalities in West Plains. Additional flash flooding occurred during early morning thunderstorms on June 29, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records highlight distinct risk tiers across property types. Zone A properties face the heaviest impact, accounting for 60 claims with an average payout of $67,543 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Properties in Zone X have recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $16,086 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded 3 claims averaging $6384 with an average water depth of 0 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 2 claims averaging $217 with an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, where average payouts and water depths are significantly higher than in other zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Howell County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
63 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 2017, with 47 claims and $2.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds and 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.
97 NOAA storm reports from Howell 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, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 30, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Nov 3, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
302 since 1996: 195 flash floods and 107 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 20, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | $500,000 · 2 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2025. Thunderstorms occurred during the early morning hours across central Missouri, producing localized flash flooding. A larger complex of thunderstorms with severe winds moved through southwest Missouri during the afternoon and evening hours of June 29th, producing widespread damaging winds from Dade County, southeast into the Springfield metro area and then southeast into Taney County. Widespread power outages and d…
Flood · Apr 27, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms produced between 1 and 3 inches of rainfall across portions of the Ozarks which caused localized flooding.
Flash Flood · Apr 27, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms produced between 1 and 3 inches of rainfall across portions of the Ozarks which caused localized flooding.
Flash Flood · Apr 20, 2025. A strong storm system moved through the area on Sunday April 20th, 2025. This system brought tornadoes, damaging wind, large hail and heavy rain. The heavy rainfall led to flooding as the area had already received heavy rainfall from storms earlier in the week. Multiple area rivers reached minor to moderate flood stage due to heavy runoff.
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 Howell 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.