623 flood insurance claims·$10.2M 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 Clermont 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 severe weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Clermont County, supported by NOAA records showing 88 flash flood events and 66 general flood events, including 2 flood-related deaths over the last 30 years. Local flooding is frequently driven by regional low-pressure systems and frontal boundaries, such as thunderstorms on January 3, 2023, and July 15, 2023, as well as subsequent events on August 28, 2024, and April 29, 2025.
Federal insurance data indicates that properties located in FEMA Flood Zone A carry the heaviest financial and frequency burden, accounting for 459 historical National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $21,929 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. However, homeowners outside designated high-risk areas must also remain aware of potential hazards; Zone X properties recorded an average payout of $29,998 with an average recorded water depth of 22 inches, while Zone X Shaded properties averaged $14,449 with an average depth of 14 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A due to high claim volumes, while keeping in mind that lower-frequency events in Zone X can result in deeper average water accumulation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Clermont County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
494 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 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 1997, with 321 claims and $6.5M paid, the year of 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Clermont County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 14, 2008 |
| Record Snow And Near Record Snow | Mar 7, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 17, 2001 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
154 since 1996: 88 flash floods and 66 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Aug 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2023 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jul 15, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 12, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 29, 2025. Thunderstorms affected the region during the afternoon hours as a low pressure system moved east across the Ohio Valley.
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2025. Isolated, slow moving showers and thunderstorms produced localized heavy rain and flooding.
Flood · Aug 28, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours along a frontal boundary located near the Ohio River.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms developed along a boundary that had stalled across the the Ohio Valley.
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 Clermont 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.