6 flood insurance claims·$43,148 paid·4 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 Pawnee 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 risk profile in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, accounting for 35 out of 45 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 10 general flood events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard, such as a strong upper-level storm system that produced heavy rainfall and flooding on May 20, 2019, and a persistent wet pattern that caused widespread flooding on June 1, 2019. Slow-moving thunderstorms similarly triggered isolated flash flooding on June 7, 2021, and a line of severe storms produced localized flash flooding on June 14, 2025.
Federal insurance claim records indicate that property damage has been concentrated in specific areas, led by Zone A with 5 claims averaging $10,589 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. One claim was also recorded in an unknown zone, with an average payout of $790 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties within Zone A should pay the closest attention to these localized flash flood and flood risks.
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 3 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 1986, with 4 claims and $8,164 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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Pawnee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
36 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 328 Fire | Mar 19, 2025 |
| Barn Fire | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Keystone Fire | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Wildfires And Straight-line Winds | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Oct 26, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
45 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 10, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2025. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved through portions of eastern Oklahoma during the late morning and afternoon of the 14th, as warm, moist and unstable air was drawn over a stationary front across the area. The strongest storms produced hail up to nickel size, and localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 7, 2021. A broad low pressure center in the middle and upper atmosphere moved from northern Texas to northeastern Oklahoma on the 6th and 7th. The first round of thunderstorms affected southeastern Oklahoma during the morning and afternoon hours of the 6th. Locally heavy rainfall occurred, which resulted in isolated flash flooding. ||A more pronounced and focused area of thunderstorms developed during the early morning hou…
Flash Flood · Sep 26, 2019. Thunderstorms developed across northeast Oklahoma during the late evening of the 25th, and continued across the region into the early morning hours of the 26th. The strongest thunderstorms produced large hail up to half dollar size and damaging wind. Additionally, the thunderstorms moved slowly and produced locally heavy rainfall repeatedly across the same areas, which resulted in some flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2019. A strong upper level storm system moved into the Southern Plains from the Rockies on the 20th and 21st. The attendant warm front moved from northern Texas northward into northeastern Oklahoma during the day on the 20th, and then the cold front associated with this storm system moved through eastern Oklahoma during the late evening of the 20th and early morning hours of the 21st. Warm, moist, and very unstable air…
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 Pawnee 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.