9 flood insurance claims·$30,584 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 York 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 risk profile in York County, Nebraska, accounting for 16 of the 19 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside three general flood events.
Heavy rainfall events have caused significant local impacts, such as the severe storms on May 27, 2019, which brought widespread flooding to low-lying areas, fields, creeks, and rivers following rainfall totals that exceeded five inches near Hampton. Similarly, a localized heavy rain event on August 25, 2014, dropped over six inches of rain in a three-hour period directly over and near the city of York.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that damage is concentrated in Zone A, which accounts for nine claims with an average payout of $15,292 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located within Zone A or near low-lying areas, creeks, and rivers should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
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 8 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 2005, with 2 claims and $0 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Hurricane Katrina Evacuees.
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.
18 NOAA storm reports from York 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 And Straight-line Winds | May 12, 2022 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jul 9, 2021 |
| 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, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Ice Jams, And Flooding | Mar 6, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 27, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2016 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2015 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2014 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2014 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 12, 2011 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2011 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · 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…
Flood · Jun 4, 2015. For the third consecutive night, this time from the evening of Thursday the 4th into the early morning of Friday the 5th, several rounds of thunderstorms rumbled across much of the 24-county South Central Nebraska area. And for the second straight night, the majority of storms concentrated within the southeastern half of the area. Although the first few hours of evening convection yielded several hail reports up t…
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2014. This late Monday evening the 25th into early Tuesday morning the 26th featured one of the most noteworthy, albeit very-localized heavy rain and flooding events of summer 2014 within South Central Nebraska, with the greatest concentration of 3+ inch amounts centered directly over and near the city of York. The vast majority of this rain fell during a three-hour period between 1130 pm-230 am CDT, with a few of the h…
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 York 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.