2 flood insurance claims·$8,285 paid·2 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 Macon 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Macon County, Missouri, accounting for 37 out of 43 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 6 general flood events.
Severe weather systems frequently produce heavy rainfall leading to localized road closures and rising water. For instance, overnight convection and storm complexes caused widespread flash flooding across northern Missouri on May 28, 2019. Later that summer, moderate to heavy rain on July 15, 2020, resulted in isolated minor flooding and road closures in Macon and Andrew counties, though no damage was reported.
National Flood Insurance Program records show minimal historical claims for the county, consisting of a single claim in high-risk Zone A with an average payout of $0 and 0 inches of recorded water depth, and one claim in moderate-to-low risk Zone X averaging an $8,285 payout and 4 inches of recorded water depth. Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties situated in low-lying areas prone to sudden flash flooding during intense convective storms.
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 4 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Macon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 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 | May 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2014 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 8, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
43 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jul 15, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 10, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2021. Overnight convection brought into northwest Missouri a strong storm complex from southeast Nebraska. Overall, this system produced low end wind damage across far northern Missouri. Several hours later, in the evening of the 10th strong storms moved through, but the bulk of the severe weather reports came from the Kansas side of the forecast area.
Flood · Jul 15, 2020. Moderate to heavy rain moved into the area causing some isolated minor flooding in Andrew and Macon Counties. Some isolated road closures resulted, but no damage was reported with this flooding.
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 29, 2019. Widespread severe weather moved through the region on May 28. One supercell produced several tornadoes, including the Lawrence to Linwood, Kansas tornado. This storm then went on to produce an EF-2 tornado in northeastern Clay County and did damage to portions of Kearney, Missouri. Earlier in the day, through the morning and early afternoon hours several storms moved through northern Missouri causing widespread fl…
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 Macon 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.