32 flood insurance claims·$763,838 paid·2 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 Williams 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.
17% of Williams County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
23 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 15 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 2011, with 5 claims and $42,310 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Williams County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Ohio flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 2 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 |
| Flooding | May 2, 1996 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Mar 12, 1982 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 26, 1978 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
6 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 27, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2009 | — |
| Flood | Aug 25, 1998 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 1997 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 1996 | $3.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · May 21, 2010. An upper level impulse, abundant moisture and a south-southwesterly flow combined to allow for the development of thunderstorms. While several produced small hail and locally gusty winds, the main effect was torrential rainfall, on the order of 1 to 3 inches per hour. This resulted in flash flooding in several locations across western Defiance County.
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2009. A fast moving line of storms moved out of northern Indiana and into northwestern Ohio. While the storms had weakened prior to their arrival in Ohio, training of a few of the storms caused areas of flooding and flash flooding across portions of southern Williams county and northern Defiance county.
Flood · Aug 25, 1998. Synoptic and mesoscale conditions for August 23-25th...Impressive surface based instability developed late the night of the 23th ahead of a weak surface trough axis from southern lake Michigan back into western Ilinois where mid 70 dewpoints had pooled. Surface based CAPES were on the order of 3000 J/kg with lifted indicies to -10. At the same time a potent upper level trough was rotating through southern Ontari…
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 Williams 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.