13 flood insurance claims·$52,953 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 Clay 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.
River flooding dominates Clay County, backed by 48 flood events compared to 19 flash flood events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years.
Recent history illustrates these severe conditions. During June 20-22, 2024, a multi-day heavy rainfall event dropped widespread totals between 5 and 10 inches, with pockets exceeding 15 inches across the region. This runoff caused major to record river flooding and extensive overland flooding that impacted towns and communities, as documented by multiple events on June 21 and June 23, 2024. Flash flooding was also recorded on June 21, 2024, driven by localized heavy rainfall from a mesoscale convective system.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that property owners in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk zones have experienced losses. Zone A recorded a claim with an average payout of $36,254. Meanwhile, Zone X properties experienced 11 claims with an average payout of $2,271 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, alongside Zone X unshaded properties with an average payout of $802. Properties near rivers, streams, and low-lying overland areas should pay the closest attention to these recurring flood risks.
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 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 2011, with 10 claims and $46,072 paid, the year of 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Clay County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 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 Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 13, 2014 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 21, 2010 |
| Flooding | Mar 10, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
67 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 48 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | $6.5M |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 7, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2020 | — |
| Flood | May 30, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 23, 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 21, 2024. Southeast South Dakota was on the initial development end of a second mesoscale convective system in just two days as a frontal boundary remained anchored just south of the area. Scattered storms produced some spotty wind gusts as well as locally flooding rainfall.
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 · Jul 28, 2020. A frontal zone from north central Nebraska to northern Iowa focused development of late afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Weak deep-layer shear resulted in slow or back-building cells, which produced localized damaging winds and flooding rainfall.
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 Clay 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.