474 flood insurance claims·$4.6M paid·3 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 Butler 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.
Butler County experiences a near-even split of flash floods and river floods, driven by 55 flash flood events and 52 flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. Flash flooding during this period resulted in 1 death. Recent flooding has been triggered by slow-moving low pressure systems and stationary boundaries, such as events in March 2023 and April 2024 that produced widespread heavy rainfall, showers, and thunderstorms across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A account for the majority of claims with 259 filings averaging $15,943 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. However, properties in lower-risk zones also experience losses; Zone X recorded 76 claims with an average payout of $14,807 and an average water depth of 7 inches, unshaded Zone X recorded 55 claims averaging $12,695 with a 6-inch average depth, shaded Zone X recorded 43 claims averaging $4,391 with a 3-inch average depth, and unknown zones recorded 35 claims averaging $5,059 with a 2-inch average depth.
Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk flood zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to these patterns, as historical claims demonstrate that properties outside primary flood zones frequently sustain flood damages.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Butler County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
357 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 5 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 1979, with 77 claims and $269,065 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Butler County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 14, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 17, 2001 |
| Flooding | May 2, 1996 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | May 28, 1990 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
107 since 1996: 55 flash floods and 52 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2022 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2022 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 14, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall during the evening hours.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall during the evening hours.
Flood · May 26, 2024. A line of thunderstorms lifted northeast across the Ohio Valley during the afternoon hours.
Flood · Apr 2, 2024. A low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley produced widespread showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.
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 Butler 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.