9 flood insurance claims·$71,345 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 Morrow 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 from heavy rainfall events dominates the local flood hazard profile, accounting for 16 recorded events alongside 12 general floods over the past 30 years. Local flood events are driven by heavy rainfall systems, such as the surface low-pressure system on May 9, 2021, which brought 2 to 3 inches of observed total rainfall, and the slow-moving upper low on May 18, 2020, which produced rain rates of 2 inches an hour or higher from training thunderstorms over saturated ground.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across different zones with varying impacts. Properties in Zone X account for 8 claims with an average payout of $10,203 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Properties in Zone A account for 1 claim with an average payout of $20,331 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists evaluating properties within Morrow County should pay the closest attention to properties located in mapped special flood hazard areas like Zone A, as well as lower-lying parcels subject to rapid runoff and flash flooding during heavy convective storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 2011, with 3 claims and $39,779 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 Morrow County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 14, 2008 |
| Record Snow And Near Record Snow | Mar 7, 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
28 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 9, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2017 | $70,000 |
| Flood | Nov 18, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 22, 2013 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Jul 9, 2013 | $300,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 9, 2021. A surface area of low pressure tracked from the high plains crossing northern Ohio on Sunday May 9th. Widespread light to moderate rain developed Sunday morning and was ongoing through much of the day. Temperatures were in the upper 30s to low 40s, and some snowflakes mixed in midday. As the system moved east, rain turned to snow in the primary snowbelt with reports up to 2��� in northwest Pennsylvania and G…
Flood · May 18, 2020. A slow moving upper low over Illinois combined with a conveyor belt of humid air over Ohio supported widespread showers and thunderstorms over southern and central Ohio on the afternoon and evening of the 18th. The weather conditions supported not severe weather but heavy rain. Rain rates of 2 inches an hour or higher were observed with storms that trained, or repeated over the same areas. Overnight the low sank…
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2019. A stationary front stalled across central Ohio on the afternoon of the 16th. Warm moist air was in place with dew points near 70 degrees. Recent rains across the region had produced nearly saturated ground conditions supporting rapid runoff and an increased risk of flash flooding. A flash flood watch was in effect for the afternoon hours. A mescoscale convective complex with heavy showers over Indiana moved east i…
Flood · Apr 3, 2018. A warm front lifted north out of the central plains and into Ohio on April 3 with a trailing area of low pressure over Michigan. Morning showers on April 3rd brought an inch or two of rain to southern portions of the area over the Ohio River drainage basin. Later that afternoon and evening thunderstorms moved over these same already saturated areas. This additional heavy rain resulted in rapid runoff and flooding…
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 Morrow 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.