Enter any address in New Madrid County, Missouri to see its FEMA flood zone
River overflow along the Mississippi is a primary flood concern for New Madrid County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA Storm Events data shows 64 flood events and 15 flash flood events. For example, in February 2025, heavy rainfall near the Mississippi River caused minor flooding of city streets in New Madrid and along numerous state highways and county roads. More recently, in August 2023, heavy rainfall led to flash flooding of creeks and roads, with two-day totals approaching a foot in some areas.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data indicates that properties in Zone A, which typically have a Base Flood Elevation (BFE), have experienced 113 claims with an average payout of $13,300 and an average water depth of 2.4 feet. However, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED have seen significantly higher average payouts of $29,077, with an average water depth of 15.4 feet, despite being outside the 100-year floodplain. Homeowners in Zone A and those in Zone X_UNSHADED should pay close attention to flood risk.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
31 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
New Madrid County, Missouri has recorded 79 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 15 flash floods and 64 river or area floods. The county has received 28 federal disaster declarations, 5 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1973–2025)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Mar 30, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Wildfires | Severe Storm | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | May 19, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Jul 29, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Severe Storm | May 3, 2020 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Flood | Mar 11, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | Flood | Apr 28, 2017 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Aug 3, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2021 | 5.00K |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2021 | 0.00K |
| Flood | May 31, 2020 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 21, 2020 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jan 13, 2020 | 0.00K |
Flood — Feb 15, 2025
Showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall (2-5) as they streamed northeast across southeast Missouri in the afternoon and evening of the 15th. The greatest rainfall amounts were near the Mississippi River in New Madrid and Mississippi counties. Minor flooding of city streets occurred in the city of New Madrid and along numerous state highways and county Roads. The heavy rain caused a re...
Flash Flood — Aug 4, 2023
Scattered to numerous thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall developed over southeast Missouri during the night of the 3rd. These southeastward-moving storms gradually morphed into an area of widespread moderate rainfall with isolated embedded storms through the morning of the 4th. The heavy rainfall on the 4th coincided with areas of heavy rainfall that occurred on the morning of the 3rd. Two-...
Flash Flood — Mar 3, 2023
A strong storm system led to significant impacts. Heavy rainfall amounts of 3 to 4.5 inches produced flash flooding of a few creeks and roads. Small rivers such as the Black, Current, and St. Francis experienced minor flooding. Strong wind gusts occurred, ranging between 40 and 60 mph. These winds were produced by a strong pressure gradient on the back side of a very intense low pressure system...
Flood — Aug 3, 2023
Northwest to southeast oriented bands of thunderstorms moved southeast, training over the same areas for several hours. A strong and very moist low-level wind flow fed the storms, with 850 mb winds generally from 35 to 40 knots. Tropical precipitable water values were estimated to be between 2 and 2.4 inches. Instability was sufficient for strong updrafts, with 1000 to 2000 J/kg of elevated cap...
Flood — Mar 1, 2022
Minor river flooding began around midnight on the 1st of March on the Mississippi River near New Madrid. Low-lying fields and woodlands were inundated, primarily dormant cropland. The flooding was caused by several rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms on the 17th of February, mainly in the Ohio River basin.
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in New Madrid County, Missouri:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in New Madrid County, Missouri that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.