65 flood insurance claims·$567,503 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 Door 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.
2% of Door County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
42 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 2 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 2019, with 19 claims and $333,317 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Door County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
6 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 27, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
7 since 1996: 2 flash floods, 1 river or area floods and 4 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 29, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | May 17, 2020 | $30,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | Nov 27, 2019 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Dec 1, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2014 | $75,000 |
| Flood | Jun 16, 1996 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2024. Isolated thunderstorms developed ahead of a warm front during the late evening on Monday (6/24) producing large hail. A Quasi-Linear Convective System developed across northwest Wisconsin and tracked southeast through northeastern Wisconsin during the overnight hours into early Tuesday morning (6/25). The storms produced widespread straight-line wind damage, an isolated tornado, and some flash flooding across th…
Lakeshore 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…
Lakeshore Flood · May 17, 2020. A strong, slow-moving low pressure system drifted southeast across the upper Midwest over a 3 day period from May 17 through May 19. This system interacted with copious moisture streaming north from the Gulf of Mexico that resulted in several rounds of moderate to heavy rainfall across Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Lower Michigan. Widespread rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches fell across much of east-central and…
Lakeshore Flood · Nov 27, 2019. A strengthening low pressure system developed over the central Plains and moved northeast to Lake Michigan, bringing 10 to 14 inches of heavy snow, and occasionally sleet, to northern and portions of central Wisconsin. The wet, heavy snow accumulating on trees and power lines, along with strong winds, caused widespread power outages across much of northern Wisconsin with over 40,000 residences impacted. The combi…
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 Door 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.