62 flood insurance claims·$1.5M paid·7 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 Yankton 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 Yankton County, accounting for 75 events compared to 14 flash flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent historical impacts include a multi-day heavy rainfall event from June 20 to June 22, 2024, which produced 5 to 10 inches of rain—with pockets exceeding 15 inches—causing major to record river flooding and extensive overland flooding. Additionally, a slow-moving thunderstorm on July 19, 2024, dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain around Yankton in a couple of hours, causing water to pool up to a couple of feet deep.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones. Zone A recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $36,398 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X logged 23 claims with an average payout of $34,477 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches, while unshaded Zone X recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $60,465 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 2 claims averaging $23,073 with an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties located in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk, given their higher frequency of historical insurance claims and recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of Yankton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
37 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 6 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 22 claims and $144,380 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Yankton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Sep 9, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Sep 6, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 28, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
89 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 75 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | $227,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 28, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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…
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2024. A slow moving cluster of thunderstorms resided near Yankton for a couple hours, with a deep warm cloud layer resulting in extremely efficient rainfall rates of up to 3-4 inches per hour at times. Rain totals from 3 to 6 inches were measured around the Yankton area over just a couple hours. Water quickly pooled and flowed up to a couple feet deep.
Flood · Jul 1, 2024. River levels from the historic June flooding remained above flood stage for some locations into July, although continued a declining trend.
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 Yankton 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.