4 flood insurance claims·$222,970 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 Johnston 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 Johnston County, Oklahoma. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 49 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 7 general flood events resulting in 2 deaths. Recent documented events include severe thunderstorms producing flooding on May 2, 2025, and widespread severe convection leading to flash flooding from May 25 to May 26, 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) records show National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims filed in Zone X, with an average payout of $93,985 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Claims were also recorded in Zone UNKNOWN, averaging a $35,000 payout with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone X and unmapped or unknown flood zones, as these areas have documented insurance claims and vulnerability to rapid flash flooding driven by convective storm systems and instability.
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 1 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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Johnston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1981, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 25, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 16, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 28, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 9, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 49 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flood | May 2, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 25, 2025. This episode once again featured widespread severe convection across the central and southern extents of the WFO Norman Forecast Area from the afternoon of the 25th into early morning of the 26th. The background synoptic regime featured generally weak flow, with evidence of multiple weak embedded upper systems from northern Mexico into portions of the south-central United States. A persistent plume of strong insta…
Flash Flood · May 25, 2025. This episode once again featured widespread severe convection across the central and southern extents of the WFO Norman Forecast Area from the afternoon of the 25th into early morning of the 26th. The background synoptic regime featured generally weak flow, with evidence of multiple weak embedded upper systems from northern Mexico into portions of the south-central United States. A persistent plume of strong insta…
Flash Flood · Jun 8, 2025. Another episode of intense severe weather impacted much of the WFO Norman Forecast Area during the afternoon through mid-evening on the 8th. Thunderstorm activity during this episode was focused generally along and just ahead of a southeastward advancing cold front, as a strong upper trough dove across the Plains. Very strong instability and sufficient deep-layer wind shear promoted organized thunderstorm modes, w…
Flood · May 2, 2025. Numerous severe thunderstorms impacted portions of central and southern Oklahoma and western-north Texas early on the morning of the 2nd. Synoptically, this convective episode was driven by the approach of a weak shortwave trough rounding the periphery of a broader upper system across the Central and Northern Plains. Very strong elevated instability and sufficient wind shear promoted organized thunderstorm cluster…
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 Johnston 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.