46 flood insurance claims·$204,545 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 Dodge 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 general flooding occur with near-equal frequency in Dodge County, driven by a mix of 22 flash flood events and 20 general flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms and frontal systems frequently causes street and area flooding, as observed during severe weather in April and June 2024, when slow-moving warm fronts and heavy rain and snowstorms brought multiple rounds of flooding and river overflow to the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that flood risks extend across multiple zones, with the highest claim volume concentrated in high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 24 claims with an average payout of $6,799 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Moderate- and low-risk areas also experience impacts, including 9 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $4,041 and an average water depth of 2 inches, and 8 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED with an average payout of $9,630 and an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Dodge County should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, where the highest number of claims and greater average water depths occur, as well as properties in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas that have also recorded historical flood claims and payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Dodge County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 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 2008, with 16 claims and $78,875 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and 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.
28 NOAA storm reports from Dodge County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2008 |
| Record Snow And Near Record Snow | Feb 5, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 7, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 26, 2000 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jun 5, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2023 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Jul 23, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jun 15, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 8, 2025. A slow moving severe thunderstorm developed along a stationary front in Dodge County. Large hail, downed tree branches, and flooded streets were reported.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2024. Severe thunderstorms developed across western Wisconsin and moved eastward across southern Wisconsin through the afternoon and evening hours on June 22nd due to passing low pressure and its approaching cold front. There were supercell thunderstorms along with bowing segments along this line which lead to multiple areas of damage. Two strong tornadoes occurred, which were rated EF-2 near Argyle and through the so…
Flood · Jun 5, 2024. High river levels continued from May into June with additional rounds of heavy rainfall early in June leading to river flooding.
Flood · Jun 4, 2024. A slow moving warm front brought multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall from late morning on June 3rd into the early morning hours of June 4th. Areas of flooding did occur along with some wind damage.
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 Dodge 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.