341 flood insurance claims·$9.6M paid·8 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 Wagoner 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 history of Wagoner County, accounting for 68 of the 76 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 8 standard riverine flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including severe thunderstorms that dropped locally heavy rainfall and caused flash flooding in November 2024 and May 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood claims are not restricted to high-risk areas. While Zone A properties account for the majority of claims with 235 filings averaging $34,303 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, properties in other zones also face risk. Specifically, Zone X properties logged 40 claims with an average payout of $40,792 and an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X unshaded areas recorded 27 claims averaging $28,633 with a 5-inch average water depth. Zone X shaded and unknown zones recorded additional claims with average depths of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A due to the high volume of claims, as well as properties in various Zone X classifications where lower claim counts are offset by significant average payout amounts and recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of Wagoner County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
272 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 6 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 2008, with 48 claims and $1.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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.
23 NOAA storm reports from Wagoner County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 25, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 14, 2023 |
| 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 |
| 141st Fire | Feb 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
76 since 1996: 68 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2025. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed into northeastern Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 25th, as lift increased north of a warm front with the strengthening of the low level jet across the area. Very unstable air combined with strong wind shear to support the development of some supercell thunderstorms. Large hail to golf ball size occurred with the severe thunderstorms. Locally heavy rainfall al…
Flash Flood · Nov 3, 2024. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms became organized over central Oklahoma during the early morning hours of the 3rd. These thunderstorms developed into and across eastern Oklahoma, producing damaging wind gusts and a tornado. Locally heavy rainfall from these thunderstorms produced some isolated flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2021. A stationary front across northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas resulted in multiple rounds of thunderstorms across the region from June 26th through June 30th. Four to eight inches of rain fell across much of Ottawa County during the early morning hours of June 26th, with heavy rainfall also occurring across the Neosho River basin in eastern Kansas. Six to twelve inch rainfall amounts occurred in a 3-day…
Flash Flood · May 27, 2020. Thunderstorms increased in coverage and intensity across eastern Oklahoma on the 27th, as an upper level disturbance moved slowly through the region. The storms moved slowly, and some moved over the same areas repeatedly, which resulted in locally heavy rainfall and localized 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 Wagoner 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.