126 flood insurance claims·$1.3M paid·6 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 Montgomery 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 character of Montgomery County, Missouri, accounting for 28 out of 37 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 9 general flood events. Heavy rainfall events frequently trigger rapid inundation, as seen on May 24, 2023, when storms dropped 4 to 5 inches of rain, and on July 26, 2022, when training thunderstorms produced rainfall rates exceeding 2 inches per hour along the I-70 corridor.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts are concentrated in specific risk areas. Zone A properties have experienced the vast majority of claims with 121 filings, resulting in an average payout of $11,139 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties located in Zone X, Zone X_UNSHADED, and Zone V have recorded significantly fewer claims, ranging from 1 to 2 claims each, with average payouts between $1,050 and $82,684 and average recorded water depths between 1 and 6 inches.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where historical claim frequency and average water depths of 9 inches indicate the highest vulnerability to local flood hazards.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
124 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 8 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 1993, with 85 claims and $918,659 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 25, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 24, 2021 |
| 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, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2013 |
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 24, 2023. A small cluster of storms developed over portions of central Missouri. Some of the storms dumped between 4 and 5 inches of rain causing flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2022. During the early morning of Tuesday, July 26th, 2022, a complex of training thunderstorms set up roughly along the I-70 corridor in Missouri and I-64 corridor in Illinois. Several rounds of thunderstorms with rainfall rates exceeding 2in/hr affected this area, including the St. Louis metropolitan area, through the early hours of July 26th and into the morning commute. Upwards of 11 of rain fell over the course of…
Flash Flood · May 13, 2022. A cold front moved through the region triggering thunderstorms. Some of the storms became severe with numerous reports of large hail.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2021. A trough moved southeast through the region, generating a complex of showers and storms. Numerous reports of damaging winds, a few tornadoes and flash flooding were reported with this system.
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 Montgomery 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.