136 flood insurance claims·$4.3M paid
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 Clark 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.
Clark County experiences a flood risk dominated by standard river and stream flooding rather than flash flooding, with 54 general flood events compared to 32 flash flood events, including one flash flood fatality over the last thirty years.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this vulnerability. For instance, heavy rainfall from a low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley produced 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain, resulting in widespread flooding on February 18, 2022. Additional flood events occurred due to showers and scattered thunderstorms ahead of a strong low pressure system on March 3, 2023, and from widespread showers and thunderstorms associated with a stalled frontal boundary on April 4, 2025.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Special Flood Hazard Area Zone A, which accounts for the highest claim frequency with 66 claims, an average payout of $28,529, and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. However, properties in Zone X also warrant careful attention, having generated 42 claims with a higher average payout of $79,875 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Clark County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
66 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 6 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 2014, with 18 claims and $2.4M 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Clark County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1974.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 14, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Snow | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 26, 1978 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
86 since 1996: 32 flash floods and 54 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 18, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 7, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 12, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 20, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 20, 2020 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 4, 2025. Widespread showers and thunderstorms occurred across the region as waves of low pressure moved east along a frontal boundary that was stalled out along the Ohio River.
Flood · Mar 25, 2023. A strong low pressure system moving through the Great Lakes region produced heavy rainfall and locally damaging thunderstorm winds.
Flood · Mar 3, 2023. Showers and scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours ahead of a strong low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Feb 18, 2022. Rain overspread the region through the day ahead of a low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley. Rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 2.5 inches produced widespread 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 Clark 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.