15 flood insurance claims·$161,897 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 Morgan 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 severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk in Morgan County, Missouri. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 92 flash flood events, resulting in one death, alongside 40 general flood events. Recent severe weather has underscored this threat, including heavy rainfall and flash flooding from storms on April 1, 2024, and two rounds of severe thunderstorms producing flash flooding on May 8, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims have been filed across multiple zones, with distinct characteristics. Properties located in Zone A experienced 10 claims with an average payout of $18,495 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $16,215 and an average recorded water depth of 53 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within mapped high-risk riverine areas (Zone A) as well as properties in moderate-to-low risk zones (Zone X) where severe localized downpours can still produce significant, deep-water accumulation.
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 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 2015, with 6 claims and $131,109 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Morgan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 29, 2023 |
| 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 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
132 since 1996: 92 flash floods and 40 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 1, 2024 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 4, 2025. A very moist airmass led to the development of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall rates during the morning and afternoon of June 4th. Significant flash flooding occurred in and around the city of Marshfield. Additional heavy rainfall caused flooding into the evening and overnight hours with some areas picking up two day totals of 3-5 inches.
Flood · Apr 29, 2024. Another round of thunderstorms produced additional heavy rainfall and flooding. A severe storm moved across northern Stone County producing a brief EF-0 tornado. Additional wind damage occurred across Cedar and Dade counties.
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…
Flash Flood · May 7, 2024. A shortwave trough and an associated cold front pushed through the Missouri Ozarks during the late evening of May 6, 2024 and into the early morning hours of May 7, 2024. Thunderstorms developed along the front west of the Ozarks, quickly growing upscale to a linear storm mode by the time they reached southwest Missouri. This line of thunderstorms pushed through the area, causing widespread wind damage, flash floo…
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 Morgan 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.