817 flood insurance claims·$13.0M paid
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 Summit 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 dominates the flood risk profile in Summit County, Ohio. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 54 flash flood events resulting in 4 deaths, compared to 13 general flood events and 1 death. A prominent example occurred on August 8, 2024, when a surface trough combined with tropical moisture advection from Tropical Depression Debby, producing slow-moving thunderstorms with increased coverage and intensity near sunset.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas into moderate- and low-risk zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 449 claims, an average payout of $20,255, and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Properties in Zone X also face significant impact, logging 143 claims with an average payout of $33,395 and an average water depth of 12 inches. Additional claims include 102 in Zone UNKNOWN (average payout of $7,095, average water depth of 2 inches), 93 in Zone X_UNSHADED (average payout of $20,795, average water depth of 12 inches), and 25 in Zone X_SHADED (average payout of $7,644, average water depth of 10 inches).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A, where historical claim frequency is highest, as well as properties in Zone X and unshaded X zones, which experience notable average payout amounts and water depths during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Summit County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
572 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 2013, with 126 claims and $4.4M 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.
38 NOAA storm reports from Summit County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1969.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike | Sep 14, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 18, 2004 |
| Power Outage | Aug 14, 2003 |
| Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, And High Winds | Jul 21, 2003 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Nov 10, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
67 since 1996: 54 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $650,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $450,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $500,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. A surface trough was oriented south to north across northeast Ohio during the afternoon and early evening of August 8th, 2024, with then Tropical Depression Debby centered over the Carolinas. Strong tropical moisture advection northwestward into the area and modest mixed layer CAPE (1000 j/kg) allowed for thunderstorm development throughout the mid afternoon into the early evening hours, with thunderstorm coverage…
Flash Flood · May 25, 2020. Scattered showers and thunderstorms occurred during the afternoon and early evening of the 25th, originally triggered by a lake breeze boundary. These showers and storms occurred in a moderately-unstable air mass with moderate to strong DCAPE. Limited wind shear supported slow moving storms with moderate to heavy rainfall. One storm with heavy rain produced localized flash flooding in the town of Peninsula. A sepa…
Flash Flood · Sep 7, 2020. A cold front moved slowly southward across Lake Erie and northern Ohio into a moist environment early Labor Day morning. A strong jet aloft fueled persistent moisture advection along with significant backbuilding and training of thunderstorms across the area between about 6am and 6pm Monday. This resulted in a widespread 2-5��� of rain with isolated amounts even higher. Later that afternoon, the primary weat…
Flood · Jun 5, 2020. Isolated thunderstorms developed along a Lake Erie lake breeze front in northeast Ohio during the early evening of the 5th. These storms then progressed southeastward over the course of several hours. The storms produced localized flooding and straight-line wind damage in Summit and Stark Counties.
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 Summit 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.