28 flood insurance claims·$165,696 paid·5 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 Seward 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.
Standard river flooding and general flooding from persistent heavy rainfall dominate the flood history of Seward County, Nebraska, accounting for 21 out of 30 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 9 flash flood events.
Recent weather data illustrates these hazards. On September 1, 2025, persistent bands of showers driven by a low-level jet produced localized rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour, with radar totals reaching 4 to 6 inches. Additionally, regional heavy rainfall and ongoing river flooding affected parts of the area into early July 2024, while severe storms on July 4, 2023, brought widespread wind gusts and severe weather across eastern Nebraska.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties located in Zone A have experienced the highest concentration of impacts, accounting for 26 claims with an average payout of $7,727 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in Zone X and Zone X shaded recorded only 1 claim each. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties situated 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 Seward County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
27 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 4 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 1993, with 6 claims and $11,847 paid, the year of Ice Jams & Flooding and Severe Storms 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Seward County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 5 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 Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 6, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Ice Jams, And Flooding | Mar 6, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 22, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
30 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2015 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 1, 2025. On the morning of September 1, 2025, a mesoscale vorticity maximum advancing into eastern Nebraska provided the necessary forcing for lift, resulting in a persistent band of moderate to heavy showers. The concurrent presence of a 20-25 knot low-level jet significantly enhanced the inflow of a very moist, albeit weakly unstable, air mass. This dynamic led to radar-estimated rainfall rates reaching 2 to 3 inches per…
Flash Flood · Jul 2, 2024. At the beginning of July, river flooding was still ongoing along portions of the Missouri River extending from east-central Nebraska/southwest Iowa to the southern Nebraska border. Most of the length of the river crested at the end of June, so the greatest impacts are addressed in June StormData. However, sections of I-29 and the I-29/I680 junction remained closed through the first week of July as flood waters rec…
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2023. Widespread severe weather was observed across Eastern Nebraska on the afternoon and evening of July 4. Storms initially were discrete or multi-clustered and produced mainly hail. The largest hail report was 2.75 inches near Tarnov in Platte County. A QLCS formed as storms merged along a cold front and strong wind gusts became the primary hazard. Numerous locations observed 60+ mph wind gusts. An estimated peak win…
Flash Flood · Jun 24, 2021. Training storms developed across southeast Nebraska, produced strong winds and caused flash 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 Seward 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.