7 flood insurance claims·$6,518 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 Jackson 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 storms dominates the local flood profile, accounting for 26 of the 31 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 5 general flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including severe convection and heavy rainfall that produced significant flash flooding from April 29 to April 30, 2025, as well as multiple rounds of storms driven by a nocturnal low-level jet that caused flash flooding on May 23, 2024. Additional flooding occurred on May 31, 2022, due to slow-moving storms along a stationary boundary, and on March 18, 2020, following an upper-level wave that generated numerous thunderstorms.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 5 claims averaging a payout of $2,014 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, while Zone X unshaded recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $475 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located in Zone A where claims and water depths are highest.
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 1983, with 2 claims and $2,600 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 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 And Flooding | Jun 11, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 18, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 13, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 9, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 30, 2025. Multiple rounds of severe convection and flooding occurred from the predawn hours of the 29th into morning hours of the 30th. The most significant round of severe thunderstorm activity occurred across portions of western-north Texas on the evening of the 29th, where intense supercell thunderstorms produced very large hail, damaging wind gusts and a pair of significant (EF-2+) tornadoes. Significant flash flooding…
Flash Flood · May 23, 2024. Two primary rounds of severe convection occurred on the 23rd, with the first during the initial hours of the morning and the second during the early into late evening. The early morning round was fostered (in part) by a nocturnal low-level jet/ascent across portions of southwestern into south-central Oklahoma. Multiple reports of hail, including a few of severe-caliber, were received with this activity. ||A more i…
Flash Flood · May 31, 2022. Storms developed along a stationary boundary in northwestern Oklahoma into the Texas panhandle during the afternoon and evening of the 31st. Slow storm motions led to very heavy rainfall and flooding in some locations. Intense winds close to 80 mph, large hail, and a few tornadoes were also reported.
Flash Flood · Mar 18, 2020. A strong upper level wave provided lift for numerous thunderstorms to develop, with several rounds of storms leading to scattered reports of hail, wind, and flooding on the 18th into early on the 19th.
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 Jackson 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.