185 flood insurance claims·$2.0M 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 Morgan 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 from river floods and flash floods dominates Morgan County, supported by NOAA records showing 30 flood events resulting in 3 deaths and 16 flash flood events over the last 30 years. These events are often driven by multi-day storm systems and stalled frontal boundaries, as seen in the April 2024 and April 2025 events when multiple rounds of showers, thunderstorms, and severe weather brought widespread precipitation to the region.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend across multiple zones in the county. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 113 claims, averaging a $15,545 payout with an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties designated as Zone UNKNOWN recorded 49 claims with an average payout of $6,078 and an average depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties filed 21 claims with an average payout of $14,162 and an average water depth of 13 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $5,951 and an average water depth of 54 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, as well as properties in unshaded or unknown zones that have historically experienced significant insurance claims and structural water depths averaging up to 54 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Morgan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
115 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 10 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 2005, with 46 claims and $653,625 paid, the year of Hurricane Katrina Evacuation.
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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Morgan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
17 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 Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 30 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 18, 2022 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Feb 18, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2022 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 6, 2025. A line of showers and thunderstorms followed a warm front across the Middle Ohio Valley and Central Appalachians during the morning of April 3rd. A cold front brought more precipitation into the area the night of the 3rd and then stalled over West Virginia through the morning of the 4th. Showers continued in the vicinity of the boundary, which slid to the south the afternoon of the 4th before being lifted north as…
Flood · Apr 4, 2025. A line of showers and thunderstorms followed a warm front across the Middle Ohio Valley and Central Appalachians during the morning of April 3rd. A cold front brought more precipitation into the area the night of the 3rd and then stalled over West Virginia through the morning of the 4th. Showers continued in the vicinity of the boundary, which slid to the south the afternoon of the 4th before being lifted north as…
Flood · Apr 3, 2024. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of Ohio at the start of the month of April. An intense squall line raced through portions of southeast Ohio on the late morning of April 2nd, which spawned four tornadoes and caused numerous other locations to observe straight-line wind damage. Additional severe thunderstorms occurred late in the afternoon and into the evening of April 2nd, producing…
Flood · Apr 2, 2024. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of Ohio at the start of the month of April. An intense squall line raced through portions of southeast Ohio on the late morning of April 2nd, which spawned four tornadoes and caused numerous other locations to observe straight-line wind damage. Additional severe thunderstorms occurred late in the afternoon and into the evening of April 2nd, producing…
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 Morgan 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.