191 flood insurance claims·$2.2M paid·8 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 Ray 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.
River flooding and standard flood events dominate the flood profile of Ray County, accounting for 37 recorded events compared to 21 flash flood events and 1 death over the last 30 years.
Historical events illustrate these recurring hazards. In March through June 2019, heavy late winter and spring precipitation combined with a snowpack to cause prolonged Missouri River flooding that kept some locations in major flood for several weeks. Additionally, a cluster of storms that began on June 24, 2021, brought severe weather and flooding into the region.
Residents and property owners should pay the most attention to areas corresponding to FEMA flood zones with high claim concentrations, particularly Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of claims (151 claims with an average payout of $13,688 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches). Properties in shaded and unshaded Zone X zones, which also recorded multiple claims with average payouts exceeding $11,000 and average water depths of 2 inches, warrant careful review. Zone X properties recorded an average water depth of 37 inches across 8 claims with an average payout of $7,113.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Ray County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
180 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 5 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 136 claims and $1.7M 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Ray County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 24, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 11, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 15, 2015 |
| Flooding | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 12, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
58 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 37 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 14, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 25, 2021. Late in the afternoon, and through the evening hours on June 24 a cluster of storms over southeast Nebraska congealed into a line of thunderstorms that focused across northern Missouri. Most notably within this line of storms was a cluster of QLCS tornadoes that formed in Grundy County. There may have been other tornadoes associated with circulations that were noted on radar, but emergency management confirmed dam…
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2021. Late in the afternoon, and through the evening hours on June 24 a cluster of storms over southeast Nebraska congealed into a line of thunderstorms that focused across northern Missouri. Most notably within this line of storms was a cluster of QLCS tornadoes that formed in Grundy County. There may have been other tornadoes associated with circulations that were noted on radar, but emergency management confirmed dam…
Flood · May 1, 2019. Heavy late winter and spring precipitation, mixed with a loaded snow pack caused the Missouri River to flood in March. Consistent heavy rains continued the Missouri River flooding into and through May. Some locations along the Missouri River were in major flood for several weeks as heavy rains continued.
Flood · Jun 1, 2019. Heavy late winter and spring precipitation, mixed with a loaded snow pack caused the Missouri River to flood in March. Consistent heavy rains continued the Missouri River flooding into and through June. Some locations along the Missouri River were in major flood for several weeks as heavy rains continued. While the flooding continued through June, there was some gradual and steady improvement across the Missouri R…
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 Ray 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.