46 flood insurance claims·$1.3M paid·1 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 Craig 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 dominates the flood character of Craig County, Oklahoma, accounting for 41 out of 46 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 5 general flood events. This severe weather pattern is driven by cold fronts interacting with warm, unstable air, resulting in locally heavy rainfall. Recent occurrences include widespread thunderstorms that produced flash flooding in August 2023 and May 2019.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones, with the highest claim volume concentrated in high-risk areas. Specifically, Zone A accounts for 34 claims with an average payout of $35,569 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $57,180 and an average water depth of 2 inches, Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $30,300 and an average water depth of 2 inches, and Zone UNKNOWN recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $5,182 and an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which has absorbed the vast majority of historical flood claims in the county, as well as properties in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas where lower-frequency events have still resulted in significant average payout costs.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Craig County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
37 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 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 2019, with 10 claims and $615,520 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Craig County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 25, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 30, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 24, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 13, 2023. Widespread thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the evening hours of the 13th and early morning hours of the 14th, as a cold front moved through the region. The strongest thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts. Locally heavy rainfall resulted in some flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Apr 30, 2019. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the early afternoon hours of the 30th, to the east of a stationary frontal boundary that was located across north-central Oklahoma into northwest Texas. Moderately strong instability combined with strong wind shear resulted in the development of supercell thunderstorms, which produced multiple tornadoes, including two strong tornadoes, large h…
Flash Flood · Sep 24, 2019. Showers and thunderstorms developed across northeastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 24th, as warm and moist air was drawn up over a warm front that stretched through the region. Slow-moving thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall repeatedly across the same areas, resulting in flash flooding across portions of northeastern Oklahoma.
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2019. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms moved across eastern Oklahoma from the afternoon of June 22nd through the early morning hours of the 24th, as a cold front approached the area from the west. The strongest storms produced damaging wind and large hail up to quarter size. In addition, widespread two to four inches of rain occurred across the area, with some areas receiving between five and seven inches during that pe…
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 Craig 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.