58 flood insurance claims·$503,765 paid·3 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 Eau Claire 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 from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, accounting for 16 recorded events and 1 death over the last 30 years alongside 3 standard riverine flood events. Heavy localized rainfall can occur rapidly, as demonstrated on August 7, 2021, when nearly stationary thunderstorms dropped over 5 inches of rain in a short period, causing standing water several feet deep in neighborhoods and water in basements. Spring snowmelt also contributes to seasonal river overflows along the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers and their tributaries, as occurred during a severe melt in March 2019 driven by above-average snowpack and subsequent warming temperatures.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in FEMA Zone A face the highest concentration of risk, accounting for 35 claims with an average payout of $17,912 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties categorized under unknown zones, Zone X, and Zone X unshaded have also experienced claims, with average payouts ranging from $4,650 to $11,203 and average recorded water depths of 1 to 2 inches, while Zone X shaded recorded 4 claims with an average payout and water depth of zero. Homeowners located in Zone A, near local rivers and tributaries, and in low-lying neighborhoods prone to heavy stormwater accumulation should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Eau Claire County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
44 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 3 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 1993, with 19 claims and $188,215 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Eau Claire County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 3 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 & Flooding | Jul 24, 1980 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 27, 1973 |
| Flooding | May 1, 1969 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 15, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 21, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 21, 2016 | $660,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 8, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 6, 2015 | $300,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2021. During the afternoon and early evening of Saturday, August, 7th, a line of thunderstorms developed across west central Wisconsin. These storms remained nearly stationary for an hour or two and produced over 5 inches of rainfall in a short period of time across Eau Claire. There were social media pictures of standing water over several feet in a few neighborhoods. There were several homes that had water in their ba…
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2020. The remnants of tropical storm Cristobal moved north-northeast across eastern Iowa, and into southwest and central Wisconsin during the evening of Tuesday, June 9th. The circulation associated with the system brought record high precipitable water values across parts of the Upper Midwest. These high values combined with a nearly stationary area of showers and embedded thunderstorms that moved from southeast Minnes…
Flood · Mar 15, 2019. There were many factors that led to a severe Spring flood melt along the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers and several of their tributaries during the last two weeks of March. The first factor was above average snowpack for mid March. Additionally, the added effect of a cold late Winter kept this snowpack deeper into the early Spring. Once temperatures warmed, and snow began to melt, a few storms led to additional wa…
Flash Flood · Sep 21, 2016. On the evening of September 20th, a warm front was stretched west to east across southern Minnesota, and southern Wisconsin. The weather pattern, and associated boundaries were nearly stationary through early Thursday morning, September 22nd. The atmosphere was very moist which was evident in the soundings, as near record high Precipitable Water (PWAT) values were noted. ||Although the most significant part of thi…
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 Eau Claire 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.