36 flood insurance claims·$230,944 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 Van Wert 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 in Van Wert County, supported by 10 flash flood events and 8 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall is often driven by slow-moving weather systems, high precipitable water values, and storm training. For example, a heavy rainfall event on May 24, 2017, featured storms that caused rapid water rises in rural and urban areas, resulting in numerous road closures, stranded vehicle rescues, and severe impacts in the town of Wren. Another multi-day event beginning on June 15, 2015, brought torrential rainfall rates of two to three inches per hour and five-day totals exceeding eight inches, leading to widespread high water.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data show varied impacts across different zones. Properties located in Zone A recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $10,655 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $22,114 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN properties recorded 17 claims averaging $1,001 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties mapped within Zone A, which experience significantly deeper average floodwaters, as well as properties in unmapped or lower-risk zones that still experience insured losses from severe convective rainfall.
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 6 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 1981, with 11 claims and $7,283 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Van Wert County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1965.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Dec 22, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 4, 2003 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Nov 10, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jul 12, 1992 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2017 | $425,000 |
| Flood | Jun 27, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jun 15, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jul 9, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2008 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 24, 2017. An upper level system interacted with an unstable environment, causing the development of thunderstorms. High precipitable water values and training of several thunderstorms cause a narrow swath of intense rainfall. This subsequently caused rapid water rises in rural and urban areas, resulting in numerous road closures as well as some rescues from stranded vehicles. The town of Wren was the hardest hit.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2017. Synoptic quasi-stationary boundary was located across the forecast area, initially across northern parts during the morning and then sagging south as an upper level wave moved into the region during the late afternoon and evening hours. A morning complex of storms caused sporadic wind damage as well as some areal flooding. Subsidence behind the system kept any further development of storms limited until the approa…
Flood · Jun 27, 2015. Thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall in portions of northwestern Ohio. A combination of upstream rainfall in Fort Wayne, Indiana and rainfall across Putnam county set the stage for flash flooding in the town of Payne, forcing evacuation of parts of the town as several inches of rain fell both upstream in Indiana and over the area. A similar scenario took place in Deshler (Henry county) where a care facility…
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2015. The edge of strong high pressure was situated over northwestern Ohio as a series of disturbances moved into the region. In addition, the remnants of a tropical system added to already abundant moisture to set the stage for isolated severe storms and several rounds of torrential rainfall for parts of northwestern Ohio. Rainfall rates of two to three inches per hour were common with the stronger cells, allowing 5 da…
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 Van Wert 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.