96 flood insurance claims·$1.3M 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 Mercer 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 driven by low pressure systems and thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Mercer County, Ohio, accounting for 78 recorded events compared to 27 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent weather patterns illustrate this activity, including a low-pressure system that brought showers and thunderstorms on April 11, 2024, and similar storm systems that produced flooding on March 3, 2023, and June 12, 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 58 claims with an average payout of $11,244 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $24,814 and an average water depth of 6 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $24,873 and an average water depth of 6 inches. Additionally, 2 claims in unknown zones averaged $13,803 with an average recorded water depth of 12 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in designated high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties located in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas where significant payout amounts indicate that surface water accumulation and heavy rainfall still cause costly property damage.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Mercer County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
62 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 7 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 2019, with 16 claims and $327,329 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Mercer County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes | Mar 14, 2024 |
| 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 Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 4, 2003 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 7, 1995 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
105 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 78 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Sep 8, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jul 8, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 7, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 28, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A low pressure system moving through the Ohio River Valley resulted in occasional showers and thunderstorms.
Flood · Mar 3, 2023. Showers and scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours ahead of a strong low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Jun 12, 2022. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and early evening hours as an upper level disturbance moved through the region.
Flood · Mar 18, 2021. A low pressure system moving through the Ohio Valley produced widespread rain through the day.
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 Mercer 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.