874 flood insurance claims·$15.4M 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 Butler County, Pennsylvania. 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Butler County, Pennsylvania, accounting for 75 events compared to 40 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard, including multiple rounds of slow-moving heavier rain that produced flash flooding on May 21, 2025, as an occluding surface low drifted across Ohio and generated bands of showers and thunderstorms. Additional flash flooding occurred on July 16, 2025, when a crossing cold front and weak shortwave passage spawned scattered clusters of thunderstorms.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that flood risks extend across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims occurring in Zone A with 644 claims averaging $23,399 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Residents in Zone A, as well as property owners in Zone X variants who have historically filed claims with average recorded water depths ranging from 9 to 29 inches, should pay the closest attention to local flood risks regardless of whether they reside in officially designated high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Butler County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
686 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 13 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 2004, with 267 claims and $8.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances and Tropical Depression Ivan.
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.
58 NOAA storm reports from Butler County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 19, 1996 |
| Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm | Mar 13, 1993 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Aug 19, 1980 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
115 since 1996: 75 flash floods and 40 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2025. An occluding surface low slowly drifted across Ohio on May 21st. Bands of showers with embedded thunderstorms moved across southwest Pennsylvania. During the mid to late afternoon, one convective band, associated with ample 0-3km CAPE and surface vorticity, was able to generate four tornadoes across southwest PA. Three were relatively brief and weak, but one longer-track EF1 was noted in Washington County. Multip…
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2025. A crossing cold front and weak shortwave passage spawned of scattered clusters of thunderstorms in an environment with 1500-2000 J/kg MLCAPE, >1000 J/Kg DCAPE, and weak deep layer shear. Some storms were severe with damaging wind.
Flash Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A strong mid-level trough and an associated frontal zone crossed through the|Mid-South and took aim on the OH Valley. Strong forcing associated the energy aloft coupled with a gradually destabilizing boundary layer out ahead it set the stage for areas of locally heavy showers and thunderstorms for several hours and prompted dangerous flash flooding. A flash flood emergency was issued for portions of Allegheny Coun…
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2024. A shortwave trough over the Great Lakes interacting with a quasi-stationary boundary over eastern Ohio and western PA spawned severe weather from mid afternoon through late evening. MLCAPE near 2000 J/kg along with a relatively strong, elongated shear profiles led to an environment for strong to severe winds and possible tornadoes.
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 Butler 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.