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FEMA flood zones · Nebraska

Box Butte County, Nebraska Flood Zone Map

2 flood insurance claims·$0 paid·1 federal flood & hurricane disasters

Less than 1% of Box Butte County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Box Butte County, Nebraska. 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.

In their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Box Butte County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →

Federal disasters

9 federal disaster declarations since 2001, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Storms And Straight-line WindsJul 9, 2021
Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And FloodingMar 9, 2019
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line WindsJun 12, 2017
Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And FloodingMay 6, 2015
Severe Storms, Flooding, And TornadoesJun 5, 2009
Hurricane Katrina EvacueesAug 29, 2005
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding And TornadoesApr 10, 2001

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

6 since 1996: 6 flash floods.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodJun 20, 2024—
Flash FloodJul 6, 2022—
Flash FloodJun 2, 2015—
Flash FloodApr 26, 2012—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2024. An intense supercell crossed into western Scotts Bluff County around 3:00 PM MDT on 6/20, quickly transitioning to an intense bow echo which produced widespread destructive straight line winds. These storms produced an EF-1 tornado to the southeast of the town of Morrill, NE, while a notable RFD (Rear Flank Downdraft) produced a broad swath of straight line winds in excess of 80 MPH. These RFD winds resulted in ex…

Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2022. A slow moving thunderstorm complex produced very heavy rain and localized flash flooding across portions of Morrill and Box Butte counties late in the evening on the 6th into the early morning hours on the 7th.

Flash Flood · Jun 2, 2015. Late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms across portions of the western Nebraska Panhandle produced large hail, torrential rain and damaging winds.

Flash Flood · Apr 26, 2012. Strong to severe thunderstorms erupted over parts of the western Nebraska Panhande with the passage of an upper level disturbance. The slow moving thunderstorms brought large hail and torrential rainfall to Box Butte and Scotts Bluff counties. As much as eight inches of rainfall was estimated in Box Butte County, with up to four inches in Scotts Bluff County.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Box Butte County

If a building in Box Butte 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.