143 flood insurance claims·$3.5M paid·5 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 Lewis 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Lewis County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 27 flash flood events resulting in one death, alongside 17 general flood events resulting in an additional death. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including August 2023, when a line of storms dropped up to 6 inches of rain in a short time, and October 2019, when isolated storms dumped up to three inches of rain, both causing flash flooding.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows that risk is distributed across several zones, with the highest concentration and severity occurring in Zone A. Properties located in Zone A account for 87 claims with an average payout of $38,188 and an average recorded water depth of 33 inches. Additional claims occurred in shaded Zone X, unshaded Zone X, standard Zone X, and unknown zones, with average water depths ranging from 2 to 40 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where historical 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.
24% of Lewis County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
115 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 23 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 2008, with 45 claims and $2.4M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, Flooding, and A Tornado.
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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Lewis County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 5 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 | Dec 22, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2014 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
44 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 2, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2015 | — · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2023. A line of storms moved across portions of Lewis County, dropping up to 6 inches of rain in a short amount of time causing flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 29, 2019. Storms developed along an old outflow boundary. Several of the storms produced severe weather including large hail and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 26, 2019. Storms developed along an old outflow boundary across portions of northeast Missouri and west central Illinois. There were numerous reports of damaging winds and several reports of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Oct 2, 2019. Isolated storms moved through portions of northeast Missouri dumping up to three inches of rain in Lewis County which caused flash flooding.
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 Lewis 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.