4 flood insurance claims·$22,264 paid·3 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 Noble 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood profile of Noble County, Oklahoma, accounting for 17 of the 19 recorded flood events over the past 30 years alongside two general flood events. Severe weather and heavy rainfall have triggered these incidents under unstable atmospheric conditions. For example, an extremely unstable environment caused widespread severe weather and flooding on May 21, 2019, while training showers and storms near a stalled front caused flash flooding on October 4, 2017.
Historical National Flood Insurance Program records indicate minimal claims activity across the county. Zone A properties have recorded two claims with an average payout of $11,056 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X has recorded one claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches, and Zone X unshaded has recorded one claim with an average payout of $153 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, as these areas have experienced the highest average payouts and recorded water depths associated with local 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 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.
The worst year was 2019, with 1 claims and $18,956 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Noble County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Oct 26, 2020 |
| Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 30, 2019 |
| 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.
19 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2017 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 20, 2007 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 21, 2019. An extremely unstable environment led to widespread severe weather across Texas and Oklahoma on the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Flash Flood · May 20, 2019. An extremely unstable environment led to widespread severe weather across Texas and Oklahoma on the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Flash Flood · May 11, 2017. Storms formed during the afternoon of the 11th in the vicinity of an eastward moving cold front and dryline.
Flash Flood · Oct 4, 2017. An area of showers and storms formed and trained over central Oklahoma near a stalled front through the morning and early afternoon of the 4th.
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 Noble 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.