10 flood insurance claims·$116,138 paid·2 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 Barron County, Wisconsin. 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.
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.
The worst year was 2001, with 2 claims and $63,528 paid, the year of Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes.
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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Barron County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 18, 2019 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Sep 2, 2002 |
| Flooding, Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 10, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 26, 2000 |
| Winds, Hail & Rain | Aug 5, 1977 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 21, 1965 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
10 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 17, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2012 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 21, 2005 | — |
| Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | $225,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2004 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 17, 2015. Several waves of thunderstorms moved across east central Minnesota, and into west central Wisconsin during the morning of Thursday, September, 17th. These storms dropped up to 5-6 inches of rain in Barron County before 9 AM LST. There were reports of washed out roads near Cameron, Barron and Chetek. Heavy rainfall, and associated runoff, also caused several creeks near Bloomer in Chippewa County to flood and cause…
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2012. A line of thunderstorms developed across far western Wisconsin Thursday morning, June 14th, and tracked eastward across west central Wisconsin. Some of these storms produced up to quarter size hail near Rice Lake, along with significant street flooding. By the afternoon, more storms redeveloped and produced small hail and two funnel clouds.
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2011. A small complex of thunderstorms developed across central Minnesota, and moved southeast across the northern Twin Cities Metro area and portions of west central Wisconsin, produced locally four to six inches of rainfall in less than 4 hours.||The worst areas were in the town of Woodmohr, and east of the city of Bloomer. A few roads were closed due to the flooding including;||The intersection of County Road GG & S…
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 Barron 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.