174 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·4 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 Noble 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 driven by heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Noble County, Ohio. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 55 flash flood events resulting in 5 deaths, alongside 51 general flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a flash flood on February 16, 2025, driven by an approaching cold front and heavy rain, and repeated rounds of thunderstorms along a nearly stationary front on June 6, 2025. Another significant flash flood occurred between April 2 and April 3, 2024, when a slow-moving trough brought several days of showers and thunderstorms that dropped four to five and a half inches of rain across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend beyond standard high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 96 claims with an average payout of $15,406 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, properties designated as Zone X recorded 56 claims with an average payout of $18,768 and an average water depth of 14 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $29,575 and an average water depth of 16 inches. An additional 10 claims were logged under Zone UNKNOWN, averaging a $1,424 payout and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated in mapped high-risk areas as well as those in moderate-to-low risk zones, where unexpected water depths and substantial claims indicate that significant flooding can still occur.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Noble County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
108 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 11 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 2004, with 109 claims and $2.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides, Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides.
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.
47 NOAA storm reports from Noble County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 4 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.
106 since 1996: 55 flash floods and 51 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jan 25, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Increasing moisture and lift ahead of a relatively strong low pressure system resulted in flash flooding across portions of southeast Ohio. Flash Flooding occurred as the cold front approached and crossed with an axis of heavy rain just ahead of the front. This was preceded by earlier rain with the associated warm front which primed the area for flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2025. A very moist airmass and a nearly stationary front resulted in rounds of thunderstorms that produced flash flooding on June 6th. This included reports of flooding in Noble county, Ohio.
Flood · Jan 25, 2024. Rainfall of 1 to 1.5 inches on already wet ground created some small-stream and road flooding issues in portions of eastern Ohio.
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A strong surface low pressure center was located over the middle Mississippi Valley during the morning of January 9th, and tracked across Ohio and the eastern Great Lakes through the 10th. Wind gusts of up to 55 MPH were recorded in Eastern Ohio. Also, numerous reports of rainfall in the range of 1 to 1.75 inches were received from area rain gauges. This rain created minor flooding issues on Duck Creek, with othe…
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 Noble 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.