180 flood insurance claims·$3.1M 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 Osage 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 Osage County, supported by 30 recorded flash flood events compared to 11 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including heavy rainfall and flash flooding from slow-moving thunderstorms in July 2020 and repeated heavy rainfall and flash flooding from severe storm systems in August 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk Zone A properties experience the greatest frequency of loss, accounting for 138 claims with an average payout of $18,985 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties located in Zone X also face significant risk, recording 21 claims with an average payout of $37,503 and an average recorded water depth of 28 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within high-risk Zone A, as well as lower-risk Zone X where claims demonstrate that less frequent flooding can result in deeper average water accumulation and higher average payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Osage County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
151 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 15 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 47 claims and $763,590 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Osage County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 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 | 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 |
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 10, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 4, 2023. A very unstable airmass with numerous sources of lift culminated in a line of training thunderstorms during the early morning hours of August 4th. This resulted in flash flooding and wind damage in portions of southeast Missouri.
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2023. Thunderstorms developed over central Missouri during the early evening hours. They moved east/southeast through the overnight hours. Numerous large hail and damaging wind reports were received. During the late evening through overnight hours, widespread heavy rain fell causing flash flooding. There was fairly widespread 1-3 rainfall totals, with isolated 6-8+ in central Missouri and south-central Illinois.
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2023. A swath of strong to severe storms with very heavy rainfall rates moved southeast across portions of northern and central Missouri during the early morning hours of August 2nd. There were several reports of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2020. An upper level low centered over Missouri moved slowly eastward with two lobes of vorticity that were pivoting around each other. The interaction of the two vort maxes produced two distinct areas of heavy rain, one over central/east central Missouri and another over south central and southeast Missouri. Very heavy rain fell in these areas, mainly between 3 and 4 inches of rain, though a few areas had around 6 to 7…
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 Osage 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.