193 flood insurance claims·$3.0M 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 Jackson 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 general flooding driven by heavy rainfall and frontal systems dominate the flood risk in Jackson County, Ohio. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 31 flash flood events and 25 flood events. Recent activity includes a flash flood event on February 16, 2025, caused by substantial overnight rain and a lifting warm front, as well as a widespread flood event on February 6, 2025, resulting from one to two inches of rain dropped by a crossing low pressure system. Additional flooding and flash flood events occurred in April and May of 2025 due to interacting warm and cold fronts.
NFIP claims data shows impacts across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 134 claims, averaging a $17,008 payout and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X recorded 24 claims with an average payout of $35,729 and an average water depth of 12 inches. Zone X unshaded recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $19,478 and an average water depth of 23 inches. Zone X shaded recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $4,741 and an average water depth of 7 inches, while Zone Unknown recorded 22 claims averaging a $3,965 payout and an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X properties should pay the most attention to this risk, given the significant history of both high-frequency Zone A claims and severe water depths recorded in Zone X locations.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
147 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 44 claims and $894,833 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.
44 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 5, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2018 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Record/near Record Snow | Feb 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 31 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | $3,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 17, 2025. Several days of active weather took place from July 17th to the 20th across southeast Ohio as a cold front approached from the west and then stalled over the area. The boundary eventually slid north as a warm front on the 19th of July while a disturbance passed across the Great Lakes region and took aim for New England. A secondary cold front encroached from the north and then sank down through the middle Ohio Val…
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2025. Several days of active weather took place from July 17th to the 20th across southeast Ohio as a cold front approached from the west and then stalled over the area. The boundary eventually slid north as a warm front on the 19th of July while a disturbance passed across the Great Lakes region and took aim for New England. A secondary cold front encroached from the north and then sank down through the middle Ohio Val…
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Light precipitation started to arrive the evening of the 14th, then more substantial rain spread across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. While precipitation coverage eroded from southeast Ohio and northwest West Virginia during the afternoon, moderate to heavy rain continued to trail across northeast Kentucky, southern West Virginia, and southwest Virginia. This precipit…
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. A multi-day period of flooding occurred in southeast Ohio during the middle of the month due to a stalled front across Ohio, southern Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia while an upper level disturbance pivoted overhead. Showers and storms began to develop in the moist and unstable environment by the night of June 13th. A lull in precipitation occurred on the morning of the 14th, then activity redeveloped and…
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 Jackson 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.