44 flood insurance claims·$1.3M paid·6 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 Caddo County, Oklahoma. 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 severe weather events dominates the flood history of Caddo County, Oklahoma, accounting for 46 recorded events and four deaths over the last 30 years compared to 11 general flood events. Storm complexes moving from the Texas panhandle caused flash flooding and flooding in June 2022, while an unstable airmass and cold front produced intense thunderstorms and severe hazards in August 2019.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across different risk categories with varying impacts. Properties in Zone A experienced the highest frequency with 36 claims, resulting in an average payout of $28,884 and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded six claims with a higher average payout of $60,108 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Two claims with an unknown zone designation averaged a $2,927 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within designated Zone A high-risk areas, which experience the highest volume of flood claims, as well as properties in Zone X that are still susceptible to significant flood damage and higher average payout costs.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Caddo County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
36 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 17 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 2000, with 11 claims and $400,789 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Caddo County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
44 federal disaster declarations since 1982, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 19, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Oct 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 11, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
57 since 1996: 46 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2019 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2019 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 8, 2022. A complex of storms moved into western Oklahoma from the Texas panhandle during the early morning hours of the 8th, with reports of large hail and severe wind gusts received.
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2022. A complex of storms moved into western Oklahoma from the Texas panhandle during the early morning hours of the 8th, with reports of large hail and severe wind gusts received.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2019. A highly unstable airmass and a cold front produced intense thunderstorms with widespread various severe hazards including widespread wind damage across the OKC metro area.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2019. A line of thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall and isolated severe hail and wind reports.
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 Caddo 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.