101 flood insurance claims·$2.9M 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 Maries 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 events dominates the flood history of Maries County, accounting for 60 of the 82 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems frequently cause low water crossings and localized inundation, as demonstrated by storms in May 2024 and December 2024 that produced flash flooding from heavy rainfall and affected low water crossings.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood claims are heavily concentrated in high-risk areas, with Zone A accounting for 90 claims averaging a payout of $31,503 with an average recorded water depth of 30 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have also experienced losses, logging 9 claims with an average payout of $33,845 and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within designated Zone A flood zones, where the vast majority of insurance claims and deeper recorded water levels occur, as well as properties near low water crossings and river areas affected by frequent flash flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Maries County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
90 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 28 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 2013, with 23 claims and $817,655 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding and Severe Storms, 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Maries County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
28 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 Flooding | Jul 29, 2023 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Aug 2, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
82 since 1996: 60 flash floods and 22 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 14, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 12, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Dec 31, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Mar 29, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 7, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 2025. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms occurred across southern Missouri between April 4th and April 6th. The highest rainfall amounts occurred southeast of Springfield where pockets of 8-10 inches with localized amounts to 12 inches occurred. Significant flash flooding and minor to moderate river flooding occurred, especially across south central Missouri. Two flood fatalities occurred with this system in W…
Flash Flood · Dec 14, 2024. A few severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening of December 14th. A brief, weak tornado occurred in Benton County. A few low water crossings were affected due to heavy rainfall.
Flash Flood · May 8, 2024. Two rounds of severe thunderstorms occurred on May 8, 2024. The first round occurred during the morning and early afternoon hours as a surface low pressure system approached the area from the southwest, pushing a strong frontal boundary and shortwave energy/lift into the region. For this round, thunderstorms were more elevated in nature, producing hail up to golf ball size, damaging winds, and flash flooding due t…
Flood · Mar 12, 2021. Heavy rainfall affected the region from the late morning of the 12th to the evening of the 14th as a cold front stalled over northern Arkansas, moved back to the north as a warm front, and then moved east of the region again as a cold front during the 3 day period. Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall produced widespread rainfall amounts between two and three inches with some local areas receiving in excess of 8 inch…
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 Maries 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.