653 flood insurance claims·$7.7M 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 Belmont County, Ohio. 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 frequent summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Belmont County, Ohio. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 98 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 49 general flood events resulting in 1 death. Recent severe weather demonstrates this pattern, such as the June 2025 events caused by stationary boundaries, weak steering flow, and training storms that produced 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in as little as an hour, as well as persistent daily shower and thunderstorm chances later that same month.
Federal Emergency Management Agency insurance claims data indicates that flood risks extend across multiple zones beyond traditional high-risk areas. The highest volume of claims occurred in Zone A with 404 claims averaging $17,390 and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches. However, property owners outside designated high-risk zones also experienced significant impacts; Zone X recorded 59 claims with an average payout of $23,825 and an average water depth of 20 inches, while Zone X unshaded recorded 9 claims with the highest average payout at $35,528 and an average water depth of 43 inches. Consequently, homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay close attention to properties located both in mapped special flood hazard areas and moderate-to-low risk zones where localized intense rainfall still produces severe property damage.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Belmont County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
430 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 17 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 2004, with 260 claims and $4.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides, Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides.
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.
53 NOAA storm reports from Belmont County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 5, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
147 since 1996: 98 flash floods and 49 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2024 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2025. A warm, moist airmass remained in place through the latter half of the month which allowed for daily shower and thunderstorm chances. Training storms was the primary factor to the resultant flash flooding as cells developed upshear of the initial updrafts in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. One of these storms did result in yet another round of flash flooding for portions of Wheeling WV.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Stationary boundary and near climatological max precpitable water led to another round of showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall on the 15th. With weak steering flow, storms were allowed to train over one another, producing rainfall amounts in the 2-4 inches range in as little as an hour.
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2024. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms prompted a widespread flash flood problems across the Ohio River Valley on April 2nd to April 3rd. The synoptic pattern across the CONUS was a slow moving and deep elongated trough over the Great Plains phasing with a ejecting trough over the Midwest that created an area of converging moisture over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Overall, over a span of 4 days, fo…
Flood · Apr 2, 2024. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms prompted a widespread flash flood problems across the Ohio River Valley on April 2nd to April 3rd. The synoptic pattern across the CONUS was a slow moving and deep elongated trough over the Great Plains phasing with a ejecting trough over the Midwest that created an area of converging moisture over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Overall, over a span of 4 days, fo…
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 Belmont 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.