63 flood insurance claims·$1.6M 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 Burt 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood history of Burt County, Nebraska, accounting for 12 out of 20 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 8 standard flood events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these risks. A strong low-pressure system and warm front triggered severe weather and flash flooding in May 2023, while a moisture-rich environment and training thunderstorms produced 3 to 4 inches of rainfall that led to flash flooding on August 2, 2023. Additionally, a March 2019 bomb cyclone caused historic flooding across eastern Nebraska as rapid snowmelt and rainfall combined over frozen ground.
NFIP claims data shows that properties in Zone A carry the highest financial risk, with 50 claims averaging a $46,170 payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. By contrast, Zone X recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $0 and an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $8,345 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $2,362 and an average water depth of 1 inch, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $766 and an average water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Burt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
52 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 7 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 2011, with 32 claims and $699,618 paid, the year of 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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Burt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Aug 8, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Straight-line Winds | Mar 18, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | May 12, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 1, 2014 |
| Flooding | Jun 17, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 24, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 12, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 16, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 1, 2018 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 15, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 24, 2024. A series of shortwave troughs traversing the northern CONUS brought unsettled weather to the area for the end of June. On the 21st, a stationary front was draped across northeast Nebraska into Iowa. Ahead of one of the aforementioned shortwave troughs, several rounds of strong thunderstorms developed near this frontal zone and moved across northeast Nebraska. At 8 pm on the 21st, radar imagery showed training thun…
Flash Flood · May 12, 2023. A strong low-pressure system which had been slowly moving east off the Rocky Mountains finally progressed into central Nebraska. This left eastern Nebraska in the warm sector as a warm front moved north into the area. The SPC issued an Enhanced Risk for severe weather with a 30% hatched for severe hail. There ended up being 19 confirmed tornadoes (3 EF2, 8 EF1, 4 EF0, 4 EFU). There were numerous hail reports the l…
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2023. An upper-level short-wave helped lead to clusters of weak thunderstorms the morning of August 2. Early in the event, there were a couple of wind reports with a 71 mph wind measured at the Norfolk Airport. A moisture rich environment led to efficient downpours from thunderstorms. Additionally, clusters tracked over the same locations helping lead to high rainfall totals. There were several reports of 3 to 4 inches…
Flood · Mar 16, 2019. A 971mb bomb cyclone moved out of the central Rockies on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 and helped to create widespread, moderate to major, and in many cases historic, flooding across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. From 4 to 15 inches of snow cover remained across the mid Missouri River valley, and the ground was frozen with existing frost depths of 15 to 23 inches. Warm temperatures allowed all of the snow to rapi…
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 Burt 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.