305 flood insurance claims·$2.8M 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 Mahoning 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.
Flood risk in Mahoning County is split evenly between general floods and flash floods, with 19 flood events and 18 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years. These events are often driven by frontal boundaries, stationary fronts, and slow-moving thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall, such as the flash flood on September 4, 2022, and the flood on June 4, 2020.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data show impacts across multiple zones. Unshaded Zone X accounts for the highest claim volume with 129 claims averaging $10,940 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X properties recorded 68 claims averaging $12,819 with an average water depth of 7 inches, while Zone A properties recorded 56 claims averaging $19,016 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Shaded Zone X recorded 47 claims averaging $6,214 with an average water depth of 4 inches, and unknown zones recorded 5 claims averaging $1,446 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and unshaded or shaded Zone X areas should pay the closest attention to flood risk, as these zones record the highest frequencies of insurance claims and documented water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
76% of Mahoning County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
232 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 4 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 1982, with 25 claims and $110,599 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Mahoning County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1978.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide | May 27, 2019 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 18, 2004 |
| Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, And High Winds | Jul 21, 2003 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 4, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jul 12, 1992 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2022 | $4.5M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2021 | $200,000 |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2019 | $3.0M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2018 | $1.1M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2015 | $2.2M |
| Flood | Feb 28, 2011 | $200,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 17, 2022. A southeastward-moving surface cold front across southern Lower MI and northern IN approached northwest OH during the early morning of the 17th. The surface pressure gradient tightened in northwest OH as the cold frontal surface trough interacted with a surface ridge axis that remained anchored near the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia. This tightening surface pressure gradient and apparently relatively-deep mec…
Flash Flood · Sep 4, 2022. A surface cold front moved south-southeastward across Lake Erie and northern Ohio during the late morning through early evening of the 4th. Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms occurred along and ahead of the front, within a humid warm sector comprised of weak to primarily moderate MUCAPE and moderate effective bulk shear. Radar data suggest the weak and brief tornado was spawned by a supercell after th…
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2021. A cold front moved southeastward from Lower Michigan to Lake Erie during the evening and overnight of the 15th and then stalled in vicinity of the southern lakeshore by daybreak. This was in response to one surface low moving northeastward from southwestern Quebec toward the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, while another low moved along the front from eastern Iowa to near the Michigan/Indiana border. Ahead of th…
Flood · Jun 4, 2020. A stationary front lingered along the US 30 corridor in northern Ohio. Afternoon and early evening thunderstorm development occurred along and near the front. Some storms produced heavy rainfall and isolated minor flooding. There were also reports of damaging wind gusts and quarter-size hail.
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 Mahoning 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.