8 flood insurance claims·$93,111 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 Wright 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 heavy rainfall dominates Wright County, with 152 flood events and 118 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years, resulting in a combined total of seven deaths. Severe weather systems frequently produce heavy rainfall, leading to localized flash flooding, river flooding, and soil saturation. For example, multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms between April 4th and April 6th brought rainfall totals of 8 to 10 inches southeast of Springfield, causing significant flash flooding and two fatalities in West Plains. Additional heavy rainfall on June 7th triggered further flash flooding due to already saturated soils.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that damages occur across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A recorded 3 claims with an average water depth of 4 inches and an average payout of $20,000. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average water depth of 1 inch and an average payout of $18,278. An additional claim was filed under an unknown zone with no recorded water depth or payout. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X where localized heavy rainfall can still result in recorded water accumulation and property damage.
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 2 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 2013, with 3 claims and $70,599 paid, the year of Severe Storms, 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.
108 NOAA storm reports from Wright County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Missouri flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Nov 3, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 3, 2020 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
270 since 1996: 118 flash floods and 152 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 30, 2025. Slow moving showers and storms moved over portions of the Ozarks that had received multiple rounds of heavy rainfall over the preceding week. This lead to flooding on several low water crossings and caused some rivers to reach minor flood stage.
Flash Flood · May 24, 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.
Flood · Apr 19, 2025. Slow moving storms produced heavy rainfall across portions of the Ozarks causing flooding of multiple low water areas. The initial storms that develop the evening of the 18th were able to take advantage at limited shear and instability to produce a brief EF0 tornado and localized wind damage.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. A tropical like airmass allow for thunderstorms to produce very heavy rainfall across southern Missouri during the afternoon and evening of June 15th. Several roads were closed due to flooding.
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 Wright 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.