59 flood insurance claims·$759,863 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 Moody 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 the flood character of Moody County, accounting for 91 out of 95 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 4 flash flood events. Heavy rainfall events frequently drive this activity, such as the multi-day rainfall between June 20 and 22, 2024, which produced widespread totals of 5 to 10 inches and pockets exceeding 15 inches, causing major to record river flooding and extensive overland impacts. Subsequent heavy rains in late June and early July 2025 similarly pushed downstream river gauges in the upper and middle Big Sioux River Basin into minor and moderate flood stages.
Federal insurance records reflect these risks primarily within designated high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 52 filings averaging $15,209 in payouts and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in lower-risk Zone X areas also experience occasional impacts, recording 5 claims with an average payout of $15,064 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while shaded and unshaded Zone X designations recorded minimal or zero-dollar payouts. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located near rivers and within Zone A, where historical claims and flood events are concentrated.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Moody County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
54 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 4 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 1997, with 16 claims and $92,561 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms and Blizzard Conditions and Severe Flooding, Sever Winter Storms,heavy Rains High Winds.
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.
38 NOAA storm reports from Moody County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
21 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 Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Flooding | Mar 10, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 2, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
95 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 91 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | $105,000 |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 13, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 30, 2025. A period of heavy rain across northeast South Dakota resulted in downstream river gauges within the upper and middle Big Sioux River Basin to rise into Minor and locally Moderate flood stage.
Flood · Jul 1, 2025. River flooding from heavy rain at the end of June continued across the upper Big Sioux River Basin before falling below flood stage within the first few days of July.
Flood · Jun 22, 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…
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…
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 Moody 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.