6 flood insurance claims·$236,494 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 Choctaw 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 thunderstorms and slow-moving weather systems dominates the flood risk in Choctaw County, Oklahoma. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 25 flash flood events compared to 6 general flood events, which resulted in 1 recorded death.
Storm events are driven by heavy rainfall from slow-moving systems and frontal boundaries. For example, a slow-moving cold front produced three to five inches of rain—with some areas exceeding eight inches—resulting in flash flooding in July 2017. Another event occurred in August 2021 when a moist air mass and weak wind flow aloft generated slow-moving thunderstorms that produced very heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
Federal insurance records reflect property vulnerability across different zones. Properties in Zone A experienced the highest impacts, averaging $77,117 per claim across 3 claims with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homes in unshaded Zone X saw 2 claims averaging $2,572 with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, where historical claims indicate significantly higher average payouts and greater recorded water depths during flood events.
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 2 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 2015, with 2 claims and $160,459 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Choctaw County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 5, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 28, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 3, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 2, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Dec 30, 2015 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Nov 28, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2015 | — |
| Flood | May 22, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 2, 2023. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the midday hours of the 2nd, north of a warm front that stretched across far northern Texas. Elevated instability and strong deep layer wind shear supported the development of some supercells within the band of thunderstorms that moved northeast across the region. The strongest storms produced hail up to golf ball size. ||Another r…
Flash Flood · Aug 19, 2021. Thunderstorms developed across portions of southeastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 19th. A very moist air mass across the region and weak wind flow aloft resulted in slow-moving thunderstorms that produced very heavy rainfall, some of which resulted in flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2017. Thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary that was positioned across southeastern Oklahoma. These thunderstorms focused locally heavy rainfall across the area, which resulted in flooding in Choctaw County.
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2017. Thunderstorms developed over southeastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of July 5th, as a slow moving cold front moved into the area. These thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall of three to five inches across much of southeastern Oklahoma, with areas of rain exceeding eight inches observed. This heavy rainfall resulted in some flash flooding.
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 Choctaw 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.