46 flood insurance claims·$1.2M paid·5 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 Sequoyah 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 risk profile in Sequoyah County, OK. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 72 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, compared to 10 general flood events. Recent incidents illustrate this pattern, including slow-moving thunderstorms that caused flash flooding on July 8, 2025, and a strong storm system that produced heavy rainfall on May 5, 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas, resulting in payouts in both designated flood zones and moderate-to-low risk areas. Properties located in FEMA Zone A account for 33 claims with an average payout of $32,831 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X account for 13 claims with an average payout of $31,910 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where historical claims and recorded water depths are highest, while recognizing that properties in Zone X also face measurable flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Sequoyah County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 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 2010, with 11 claims and $153,976 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storm.
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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Sequoyah County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 21, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
82 since 1996: 72 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2022 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jun 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2025. A slow-moving cluster of thunderstorms developed across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the morning of the 8th, as an upper level disturbance approached the area from the northwest. The atmosphere was unusually moist, which enhanced the rainfall rates from the slow-moving thunderstorms. Locally heavy rainfall resulted in some flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2024. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed into northeastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 16th, and became more widespread across the area during the evening and overnight hours. The atmosphere became very unstable during the late afternoon over eastern Oklahoma, and deep layer wind shear increased over the region during the evening with the approach of an upper level disturbance. This environment…
Flood · Jul 14, 2023. Several clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms moved southeast across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 14th. The strongest storms produced damaging wind in Sequoyah County.||Additional thunderstorms intensified and became well-organized over Kansas during the day as they moved southeast across the state. These thunderstorms formed a nearly solid line of strong to severe thunde…
Flood · Jun 10, 2022. Two organized lines of thunderstorms moved into eastern Oklahoma during the morning of the 10th, one from the southwest and one from the northwest. The strongest thunderstorms produced damaging wind. Locally heavy rainfall also occurred in some locations, with a swath of three to six inches falling across Muskogee, Sequoyah, and northern Le Flore Counties, which subsequently resulted in some flash flooding.
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 Sequoyah 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.