311 flood insurance claims·$2.9M paid·1 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 Fairfield 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 and river flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate Fairfield County, driven by stalled frontal boundaries combined with very warm and humid air masses. Recent events, such as the heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on July 27, 2025, illustrate how these weather patterns produce damaging winds and localized flash flooding across the area. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 51 general flood events and 41 flash flood events, which resulted in two deaths.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that property damage occurs across multiple zones, with the highest claim volume concentrated in specific areas. Zone A accounts for 246 claims with an average payout of $15,512 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 35 claims with a higher average payout of $35,824 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded smaller numbers of claims with lower average payouts and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which experiences the vast majority of flood claims and deeper average water accumulation, as well as properties in Zone X where average claim payouts are substantially higher.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Fairfield County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
253 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 2008, with 35 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike.
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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Fairfield County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| 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 |
| 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, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jul 12, 1992 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
92 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 51 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed along a frontal boundary that was moving south into the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Jul 27, 2025. A weak cold front sagged south through the Great Lakes region, stalling out as a stationary front through the Ohio Valley. This boundary, combined with a very warm and humid airmass, sparked showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening hours on the 27th. Some of these storms produced damaging winds and heavy rainfall, which lead to instances of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 27, 2025. A weak cold front sagged south through the Great Lakes region, stalling out as a stationary front through the Ohio Valley. This boundary, combined with a very warm and humid airmass, sparked showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening hours on the 27th. Some of these storms produced damaging winds and heavy rainfall, which lead to instances of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed in a warm and humid summertime airmass. Some of these storms were strong, producing damaging winds while others produced heavy rainfall, leading to flash 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 Fairfield 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.