46 flood insurance claims·$187,666 paid
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 Woodward 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 and river flooding equally dominate the flood history of Woodward County, with 14 flash flood events and 13 flood events recorded over the last 30 years. NOAA storm reports illustrate these risks, noting a stationary area of thunderstorms that dropped over five inches of rain and caused flash flooding in portions of Woodward on July 13, 2022, as well as slow-moving thunderstorms that produced isolated flash flooding on September 1, 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that claims are heavily concentrated in high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 42 filings, resulting in an average payout of $6,610 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties located in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness, given this historical concentration of claims and water depth. Minimal claim activity is recorded outside of high-risk areas, with only two claims in unshaded Zone X averaging an average payout of $5,529 and an average water depth of 2 inches, one claim in shaded Zone X averaging an average payout of $4,746 and an average water depth of 1 inch, and one claim in an unknown zone with no payout or recorded water depth.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Woodward County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
45 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 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 1996, with 10 claims and $23,685 paid.
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 Woodward County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1993.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 43 Fire | Feb 17, 2026 |
| 57 Fire | Apr 6, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Highway 50 Fire | Nov 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| 34 Fire Complex | Apr 11, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Apr 26, 2009 | — |
| Flood | Sep 12, 2008 | $75,000 |
| Flood | Jun 14, 2007 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2022. A stationary area of thunderstorms led to excessive rainfall in and near Woodward, Oklahoma with some areas receiving over 5 inches of rain. Flash flooding was reported in portions of Woodward.
Flash Flood · Sep 1, 2022. Slow moving thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon of the 1st across northern Oklahoma, with isolated flash flooding reported. Later additional thunderstorms developed in western Oklahoma with reports of severe wind gusts.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2019. Scattered supercells merged into a linear system that produced a variety of severe weather on the 25th.
Flash Flood · May 16, 2017. Storms formed along the dryline in the Texas panhandle on the afternoon of the 16th before moving eastward. As a cold front caught up to the storms, convection increased and storms began to form into a line. This line continued eastward across the state overnight into the 17th.
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 Woodward 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.