75 flood insurance claims·$2.1M paid·4 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 Stone 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 dominates the flood risk profile of Stone County, Missouri, accounting for the majority of severe water events over the last 30 years with 97 recorded flash flood events compared to 34 general flood events. Heavy rainfall systems regularly threaten the area, such as storms in April 2025 that produced multiple rounds of heavy rain, caused rivers to reach minor to moderate flood stages, and followed earlier heavy rainfall that left the region vulnerable to rapid runoff.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend across multiple zones, with distinct impacts on property payouts and water depths. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 44 claims averaging $32,889 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties have experienced 15 claims with an average payout of $56,445 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches, and standard Zone X properties recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $35,410 and an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties in unshaded Zone X areas where lower-frequency events have resulted in higher average claim payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
25% of Stone County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
59 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 9 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 2008, with 23 claims and $682,802 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, Flooding, and A Tornado.
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.
46 NOAA storm reports from Stone County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And A Tornado | Sep 11, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
131 since 1996: 97 flash floods and 34 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 20, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 23, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 23, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2025. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms occurred from Friday, May 23 through Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Total Rainfall amounts ranged between 2-5 inches, with localized amounts up to 8.6 inches.
Flash Flood · Apr 20, 2025. A strong storm system moved through the area on Sunday April 20th, 2025. This system brought tornadoes, damaging wind, large hail and heavy rain. The heavy rainfall led to flooding as the area had already received heavy rainfall from storms earlier in the week. Multiple area rivers reached minor to moderate flood stage due to heavy runoff.
Flood · Apr 4, 2025. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms occurred across southern Missouri between April 4th and April 6th. The highest rainfall amounts occurred southeast of Springfield where pockets of 8-10 inches with localized amounts to 12 inches occurred. Significant flash flooding and minor to moderate river flooding occurred, especially across south central Missouri. Two flood fatalities occurred with this system in W…
Flood · Mar 24, 2023. The most impactful storm system to affect the region during the month of March began during the late afternoon and early evening of the 23rd as strong to severe thunderstorms trained along and north of a front that had stalled over northwest Arkansas and south central Missouri. While the storms produced sporadic wind damage and hail, rainfall accumulations exceeded three inches within a 6-hour period during the ev…
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 Stone 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.