89 flood insurance claims·$926,491 paid·7 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 Dakota 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.
River flooding combined with flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Dakota County, Nebraska, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 20 flood events and 14 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy regional rainfall can lead to significant flooding along the Missouri River, as demonstrated by a multi-day heavy rainfall event in June 2024 that brought widespread totals of 5 to 10 inches and pockets exceeding 15 inches upstream. Additionally, slow-moving storms in July 2024 produced rainfall rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour, causing localized flash flooding.
NFIP claim data shows that property damage occurs across multiple zones, with varying average payouts and recorded water depths. Shaded Zone X accounts for 39 claims with an average payout of $2,807 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Unshaded Zone X recorded 19 claims with an average payout of $29,242 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X properties saw 21 claims with an average payout of $39,005 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Zone A properties experienced 8 claims with an average payout of $19,572 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and real estate agents representing properties near rivers and within mapped flood zones should pay the closest attention to these historical flood and flash flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
88% of Dakota County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
66 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 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 2011, with 65 claims and $547,485 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Dakota County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Straight-line Winds | Mar 18, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 19, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 17, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 14, 2014 |
| Flooding | Jun 17, 2011 |
| Flooding | May 24, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Ice Jams, And Flooding | Mar 6, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 24, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 24, 2024 | $1.2M |
| Flood | May 31, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 14, 2019 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $1.5M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 28, 2024. Storms developed along a weak surface boundary within a moisture-rich environment with weak mean-layer flow. Slow moving storms produced rainfall rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour, with amounts of 3.09 inches reported by a cooperative weather observer near Wakefield and personal automated gauges and radar estimates up to 4 inches over portions of the Sioux City metro area.
Flood · Jun 24, 2024. A multi-day significant heavy rainfall event from June 20-22 resulted in widespread rain totals between 5 and 10 inches with pockets in excess of 15 inches across parts of southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa. As rainfall reached area streams and rivers and moved downstream, significant flooding was observed along parts of the Missouri River. All river crest information is preliminary until made official by t…
Flood · May 31, 2019. A combination of increased releases from Gavins Point Dam and the widespread 2 to 4 inches of rainfall between May 21 and May 27 across much of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and northeast Nebraska led to flooding of the lower Missouri River.
Flood · May 29, 2019. A combination of increased releases from Gavins Point Dam and the widespread 2 to 4 inches of rainfall between May 21 and May 27 across much of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and northeast Nebraska led to flooding of the lower Missouri River.
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 Dakota 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.