2 flood insurance claims·$94,396 paid·10 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 Aurora County, South Dakota. 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.
Standard river flooding dominates the flood character of Aurora County, backed by a significant history of general flood events compared to flash floods. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 16 general flood events alongside 6 flash flood events. Recent history underscores this activity, notably during a multi-day heavy rainfall event in June 2024 that brought widespread rainfall totals between 5 and 10 inches, with pockets exceeding 15 inches across the region, leading to major river flooding and extensive overland impacts. Severe thunderstorms during the same period in June 2024 also produced rainfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour, causing localized flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate minimal claim history across the county's zones, with one claim in Zone A averaging a $70,000 payout with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, and one claim in Zone X averaging a $24,396 payout with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Properties situated within Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk, as these areas face the highest potential for standing water and property damage during heavy precipitation and river overflow 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 1 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Aurora County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 12, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Flooding | Mar 10, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 20, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 16 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 20, 2024 | $2.5M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 2, 2020 | — |
| Flood | May 20, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 21, 2024. A multi-day significant heavy rainfall event from June 20-22 resulted in widespread rain totals between 5 and 10 inches with pockets in excess of 15 inches across portions of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota. As rainfall reached area streams and rivers, major to record flooding was observed, devastating several towns and communities. Extensive overland flooding also resulted in signi…
Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2024. Clusters of thunderstorms with very high rainfall rates from 2 to 4 inches per hour developed by midday on June 20, and despite being transient, continued to redevelop through the evening and into the overnight hours. The primary focus occurred along Highway 18 in the afternoon southwest and south of Sioux Falls, then along Interstate 90 during the evening, and settled again to along the Highway 18 corridor as th…
Flood · Jun 20, 2024. A multi-day significant heavy rainfall event from June 20-22 resulted in widespread rain totals between 5 and 10 inches with pockets in excess of 15 inches across portions of southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota. As rainfall reached area streams and rivers, major to record flooding was observed, devastating several towns and communities. Extensive overland flooding also resulted in signi…
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2020. Strong frontal forcing resulted in the redevelopment of elevated thunderstorms during the very early morning to the west of the band from the previous evening. Storms quickly became linear with the development of a couple of mesovortices, which were the focus of damaging winds while tracking northeast along the line. Heavy training rainfall brought areas of 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 Aurora 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.