26 flood insurance claims·$409,094 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 Pittsburg 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 Pittsburg County, accounting for the vast majority of local flood events over the last 30 years alongside riverine flooding. NOAA storm records document multiple recent events, including severe thunderstorm activity that triggered flash flooding in April 2024, April 2025, and May 2025.
Federal insurance data shows that flood losses occur in both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas. In FEMA-designated Zone A, claims averaged 15 occurrences with an average recorded water depth of 4 inches and an average payout of $24,315. In Zone X, claims averaged 8 occurrences with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch and an average payout of $30,456. Meanwhile, Zone X unshaded areas recorded 3 claims with an average water depth of 8 inches and an average payout of $62,293.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, where repetitive claims highlight a clear exposure to standing water and rising floodwaters, as well as properties in Zone X unshaded areas that have experienced deeper average water levels during past 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 4 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 2015, with 13 claims and $256,138 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding and Severe Winter Storms 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.
36 NOAA storm reports from Pittsburg County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 4 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, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 30, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 16, 2017 |
| 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.
94 since 1996: 81 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2021 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 19, 2025. Severe thunderstorms developed over central Oklahoma along and ahead of a dry line during the afternoon of the 19th, as an upper level disturbance approached the Southern Plains. These thunderstorms moved northeast off the dry line and across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the mid afternoon and evening hours. The atmosphere east of the dry line across eastern Oklahoma became very unstable during the afternoon…
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 4th, as lift associated with an approaching upper level disturbance increased north of a stationary front across northeastern Oklahoma and southern Arkansas. The strongest storms produced large hail up to golf ball size and damaging wind gusts.||Additional rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms occu…
Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2024. Severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of the 27th over central Oklahoma, along and ahead of the dry line, as a strong upper level low pressure system deepened into the Southern Rockies. Strong instability and strong wind shear over eastern Oklahoma supported organized severe thunderstorms, including supercells. The first round of storms affected portions of far northeastern Oklahoma during the early…
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2023. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 23rd, along a retreating warm front that stretched across the area, and ahead of a cold front approaching from the northwest. The thunderstorms became more widespread across the area during the evening. The air mass ahead of the cold front became very unstable, and deep-layer wind shear increased with…
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 Pittsburg 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.