1,399 flood insurance claims·$8.4M 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 Franklin 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.
Standard riverine flooding and flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate Franklin County, Ohio, with NOAA Storm Events Database records showing 108 flood events and 67 flash flood events, resulting in one death over the last 30 years. Recent occurrences include heavy rainfall from strong showers and thunderstorms in July 2025 that produced damaging winds and flash flooding.
Federal Emergency Management Agency insurance data reveals varying impacts across designated zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 656 filings averaging $11,462 with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X recorded 207 claims averaging $11,264 with an average depth of 14 inches. Additionally, claims were filed in unshaded Zone X (131 claims, averaging $9,605 with a 4-inch average depth), shaded Zone X (40 claims, averaging $11,189 with a 2-inch average depth), and unknown zones (360 claims, averaging $2,414 with a 2-inch average depth).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, where claims show higher average payouts and significant recorded water depths during flooding events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Franklin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
827 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 1979, with 292 claims and $696,922 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 Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 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 |
| Snow | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
175 since 1996: 67 flash floods and 108 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 24, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 12, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
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.
Flood · Apr 2, 2024. A low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley produced widespread showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.
Flood · Jul 24, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms developed as a low pressure system moved through 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 Franklin 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.