383 flood insurance claims·$2.3M paid·1 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 Brown 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.
Flash flooding and standard riverine flooding dominate Brown County, supported by 14 flood events, 12 flash flood events, and 8 lakeshore flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent events illustrate these risks. On July 5, 2025, several rounds of heavy rain dropped 2 to 3 inches in a short time, causing flash flooding on the west side of Green Bay. Previously, on August 10, 2021, thunderstorms produced rainfall amounts around 2 inches in Green Bay, also resulting in flash flooding. A slow-moving low-pressure system between May 17 and May 19, 2020, brought widespread rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches across east-central and northeast Wisconsin, generating lakeshore flooding.
Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration data shows claims spanning multiple zones, with the highest concentration in Zone A at 290 claims with an average payout of $10,397 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X unshaded recorded 35 claims averaging $5,879 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X recorded 27 claims averaging $12,174 with an average water depth of 99 inches. Zone X shaded accounted for 23 claims averaging $3,521 with an average water depth of 3 inches, and unknown zones recorded 8 claims averaging $4,866 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X properties with historical water depth records should pay the most attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Brown County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
348 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 5 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 1990, with 104 claims and $374,386 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Brown County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 7, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 22, 1990 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 27, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 12 flash floods, 14 river or area floods and 8 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2020 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 28, 2020 | $450,000 |
| Flood | May 18, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | May 17, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2025. Several rounds of heavy rain fell ahead of an approaching cold front during the afternoon and evening on Saturday (7/05) with 2 to 3 inches of rain in a short time, causing flash flooding on the west side of Green Bay.
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2024. An area of low pressure slowly tracked east across east-central Wisconsin to central Lake Michigan through the day on Friday (7/5). Showers and thunderstorms developed shortly after daybreak and then became more concentrated during the mid-morning into the early afternoon. A cluster of showers and thunderstorms became slow moving over Waupaca County, resulting in 4 to 6 inches of rain with the city of Manawa measu…
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2021. Thunderstorms developed ahead of an outflow boundary during the evening hours across east-central Wisconsin. The strongest storms produced damaging winds and a tornado. Rainfall amounts around 2 inches fell in Green Bay, producing flash flooding.
Flood · Apr 29, 2020. A strong low pressure system tracking through the southern Great Lakes caused gusty northeast winds across east-central and northeast Wisconsin, which caused some isolated damage and widespread lakeshore flooding in Brown and Oconto counties. The lakeshore flooding damaged several homes near the bay of Green Bay, with over $500,000 of damage in northern Brown and southern Oconto counties. The northeast winds funn…
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 Brown 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.