175 flood insurance claims·$2.8M 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 Wayne 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 character of Wayne County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 27 flash flood events compared to 9 general flood events. A notable recent example occurred on August 8, 2024, when a surface trough combined with moisture from Tropical Depression Debby to produce slow-moving thunderstorms, heavy tropical moisture advection, and subsequent flash flooding across the area.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts span multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims occurring in Zone A. Specifically, Zone A accounts for 92 claims with an average payout of $30,142 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 61 claims with an average payout of $2,133 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 17 claims with an average payout of $47,562 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $10,808 and an average water depth of 31 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located in Zone A, which has received the vast majority of historical flood claims in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Wayne County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
97 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 5 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 1979, with 62 claims and $119,502 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.
20 NOAA storm reports from Wayne County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1969.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | 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 Tornadoes | Nov 10, 2002 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 26, 1978 |
| Snowstorms | Feb 2, 1977 |
| Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Jul 15, 1969 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
36 since 1996: 27 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $550,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | May 9, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2019 | $8.0M |
— = 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…
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 · Jun 21, 2020. Low-level convergence along an eastward-moving surface trough axis contributed to the development of scattered thunderstorms over northern Ohio during the afternoon and early evening of the 21st. Vertical wind shear was weak. However, moderate instability and DCAPE amidst steep low-level lapse rates near 7.5C/km to 9.5C/km allowed multiple thunderstorms to generate damaging straight-line winds. There were also sev…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2019. Low pressure over west central Indiana moved slowly east in Ohio on the afternoon and evening of the 21st. The boundary slowed to a stationary front across central Ohio, becoming a catalyst for storm development. Rainfall rates of 2 to inches an hour occurred in the heaviest rainfall. The Weather Prediction Center highlighted an area along the US 30 corridor across central Ohio for a heightened risk of flash flood…
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 Wayne 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.