1,384 flood insurance claims·$9.5M 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 Ottawa 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 summer thunderstorms and lakeshore flooding dominate the flood risk profile in Ottawa County, Ohio. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 14 flash flood events, 11 lakeshore flood events, 9 standard flood events, 6 storm surge or tide events, and 4 coastal flood events. Recent activity is illustrated by heavy, organized storms driven by an anomalously warm and moist air mass in August 2023, as well as persistent northeast winds that raised water levels at Marblehead to a peak of 75 inches in May 2020.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts are heavily concentrated in designated high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 1,186 filings, averaging an $8,817 payout and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Properties located in Zone X, while logging fewer claims at 42, experienced higher severity with an average payout of $17,593 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Shaded and unshaded Zone X areas recorded 54 and 57 claims respectively, with average payouts between $5,135 and $7,705 and average water depths of 2 to 3 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in high-risk Zone A, lakeshore areas, and properties vulnerable to standing water should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Ottawa County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,299 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 3 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 1982, with 351 claims and $1.8M 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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Ottawa County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Nov 10, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 24, 1998 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jul 12, 1992 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 26, 1978 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | May 31, 1974 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
44 since 1996: 14 flash floods, 9 river or area floods and 21 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2023 | $400,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 23, 2023 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 23, 2023 | $750,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 23, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Mar 22, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | May 16, 2020 | $250,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jun 14, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | May 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 24, 2023. An anomalously-warm and moist air mass was in place across much of the Central Plains and Midwest, resulting in strong to perhaps extreme instability in addition to tropical-like precipitable water values exceeding 2.0 inches. The Lower Great Lakes region, specifically northern Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania found itself on the eastern edge of this heat dome. Strong northwest flow aloft persisted along the periph…
Flash Flood · Aug 23, 2023. An anomalously-warm and moist air mass was in place across much of the Central Plains and Midwest, resulting in strong to perhaps extreme instability in addition to tropical-like precipitable water values exceeding 2.0 inches. The Lower Great Lakes region, specifically northern Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania found itself on the eastern edge of this heat dome. Strong northwest flow aloft persisted along the periph…
Lakeshore Flood · Apr 23, 2020. An area of low pressure moved into the Ohio Valley on the 23rd followed by another slightly stronger low on the 25th. A near persistent north to northeast wind of 15 to 20 knots piled water up on the western basin on an already record lake levels. This supported a drawn out lakeshore flood event.
Lakeshore Flood · Mar 22, 2020. The western basin of Lake Erie from Lucas to Erie Counties was under a lakeshore flood warning on the evening of March 22nd into the early morning of the 23rd as an area of low pressure passed to the southeast of the lake. Persistent winds out of the northeast at 15 to 25 knots with higher gusts lasted for 24 hours, resulting in increased lake levels and high 2 to 4 foot breaking waves. Minor shore erosion and fl…
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 Ottawa 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.