6 flood insurance claims·$28,684 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 Polk 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 Polk County, Nebraska, accounting for 12 out of 19 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 general flood events.
Heavy rainfall events have repeatedly impacted the region, such as a persistent narrow band of heavy rain on June 21–22, 2024, and widespread flooding of low-lying areas, fields, creeks, and rivers on May 26–27, 2019, driven by multiple thunderstorm episodes producing heavy rainfall totals.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, which accounts for the majority of the county's historical National Flood Insurance Program claims. Specifically, Zone A properties recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $9,511 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. An additional single claim was recorded in an unknown zone with an average payout of $150 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
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 1 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 2020, with 1 claims and $20,000 paid.
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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Polk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 4 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 | 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, And Straight-line Winds | Jun 12, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 1, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 19, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2019 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 16, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2016 | $75,000 |
| Flood | Aug 18, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Sep 9, 2014 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Feb 27, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 22, 2024. Although it impacted only a handful of west central and especially northern counties of South Central Nebraska, a persistent narrow band of heavy rain on the evening of Friday the 21st into the pre-dawn of Saturday the 22nd caused what was likely the overall most impactful flooding event of 2024 within the 24-county area. Over the course of 10 hours between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m. CDT, numerous and mostly sub-severe thu…
Flood · May 27, 2019. Widespread flooding of low-lying areas, fields, creeks, and rivers continued. A large area of heavy rain fell due to multiple thunderstorm episodes on the nights of the 26th and 27th, and resulted in 3 to 5 inch totals over much of south central Nebraska. The swath of greatest rainfall amounts extended from Alma to Hastings to Columbus. This swath was surrounded by rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches. The highest amo…
Flash Flood · Aug 16, 2017. Between the afternoon of Tuesday the 15th and the morning of Wednesday the 16th, roughly the northern half of this 24-county South Central Nebraska area saw its most significant heavy rain and localized flooding event of 2017, along with a smattering of severe storms (including one that pounded the Fullerton area with tennis ball to baseball size hail). Focusing first on the heavy rain and flooding, most areas nor…
Flash Flood · May 10, 2016. Thunderstorms produced mostly hail along with a little wind damage, and excessive rainfall on this Tuesday afternoon and evening. The first thunderstorms began forming just after 3 pm and were part of a broken line of isolated storms that extended from O'neill south to near Kearney, and then southwest into Kansas. A dominant storm developed along the Hall-Howard County line by 4 p.m.. This storm became severe as i…
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 Polk 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.