59 flood insurance claims·$408,905 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 Iron 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 resulting from heavy rainfall and thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Iron County, Missouri, accounting for 22 recorded events and two deaths over the last 30 years compared to three general flood events.
Recent history illustrates this hazard. In November 2024, persistent rainfall from overnight thunderstorms resulted in fatal flash flooding, including one fatality in Iron County. An earlier event in June 2019 demonstrated how upper-level disturbances triggering showers and storms can produce flash flooding alongside damaging winds and large hail.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA flood Zone A. This zone has experienced the highest frequency and volume of insurance claims, totaling 46 claims with an average payout of $8,386 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. While Zones X, X_UNSHADED, and unknown zones have recorded fewer claims, properties across all mapped areas remain vulnerable to sudden and intense heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Iron County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
49 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 6 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 2002, with 28 claims and $232,639 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Iron County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 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, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 29, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 4, 2024 | $60,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 24, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 3, 2025. A stationary front over southern Missouri along with ample mid-level forcing, moisture, and efficient rain processes resulted in flooding across portions of east-central and southeast Missouri. Numerous roads across the St. Louis metropolitan area were impassable due to the heavy rainfall.
Flash Flood · Nov 4, 2024. Overnight on Sunday, November 3rd, a shield of rain and thunderstorms moved into the bi-state area. By Monday morning, persistent rainfall resulted in fatal flash flooding in southeast Missouri, with one fatality occurring in Iron County. Later on Monday evening, a QLCS produced two EF-0 tornadoes in east-central Missouri and shifted the axis of heaviest rain to the north. Due to the shift northward, record rainfa…
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2019. An upper level disturbance moved through southern Missouri and into southern Illinois triggering showers and storms. Some of the storms produced damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Feb 24, 2018. Several rounds of heavy rain fell over the region leading up to February 24th. Storm total amounts ranged from 2 to 6 inches with the highest amounts along and south of I-44. Flash flooding was reported in a number of locations.
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 Iron 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.