347 flood insurance claims·$2.1M paid·2 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 Montgomery 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.
Flooding in Montgomery County is dominated by standard floods and flash floods driven by severe weather. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 75 flood events and 47 flash flood events. Recent activity includes scattered thunderstorms developing during hot and humid conditions in June 2025, which caused multiple flood and flash flood events across the region.
Federal Insurance Administration claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend across multiple FEMA zones. Zone A recorded the highest volume with 214 claims, averaging an $11,551 payout and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Properties in Zone X also experienced significant impact with 68 claims, averaging a $9,313 payout and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Additional claims occurred in areas classified as Zone UNKNOWN (35 claims, averaging $3,818 and an average depth of 3 inches), Zone X_UNSHADED (23 claims, averaging $7,614 and an average depth of 8 inches), and Zone X_SHADED (7 claims, averaging $5,670 and an average depth of 1 inch).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone X, as these zones account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and documented water depths in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
244 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 1989, with 47 claims and $217,715 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslide | May 27, 2019 |
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 14, 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 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Record/near Record Snow | Feb 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
122 since 1996: 47 flash floods and 75 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 28, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 21, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 31, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2021 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Aug 26, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 28, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed along a frontal boundary that was moving south into the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Jun 26, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours in a hot and humid airmass that was in place across the Ohio Valley.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours in a hot and humid airmass that was in place across the Ohio Valley.
Flood · Aug 21, 2022. Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a low pressure system moving 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 Montgomery 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.