523 flood insurance claims·$7.3M paid·4 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 Fond du Lac 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.
River and flash flooding from severe summer thunderstorms and spring rainfall shape the local flood risk, supported by 15 general flood events and 12 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database. Severe weather events have driven significant local impacts, such as a March 2022 line of thunderstorms that dropped heavy rainfall on frozen ground, causing basement flooding and structural damage in Fond du Lac County, alongside subsequent heavy rainfall and high river levels in June 2024 that extended river flooding into July.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A accounting for the vast majority at 442 claims with an average payout of $15,764 and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches. Properties in shaded Zone X areas also face significant risk, averaging 24 inches of recorded water depth across 26 claims with an average payout of $45,902, while unshaded Zone X recorded 18 claims averaging an 8-inch water depth and $13,948 payout. Homeowners in Zone A, shaded Zone X, and locations with historical basement or river flooding vulnerabilities should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Fond du Lac County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
486 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 19 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 282 claims and $4.6M 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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Fond du Lac County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Aug 17, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 7, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | Jul 17, 1996 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Mar 5, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2020 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Oct 1, 2019 | $3,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 16, 2025. Two lines of severe thunderstorms tracked across southern Wisconsin from early afternoon through the early evening hours. Numerous supercell thunderstorms developed, producing a number of wall and funnel clouds as well as a few tornadoes. A secondary line of storms came through which caused sporadic wind damage. The main damage was in Iowa county from the strongest tornado which occurred near and northeast of D…
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 22, 2024. Already high river levels, and additional heavy rainfall the evening of June 22nd, led to more river flooding late in June into July over portions of southern WI.
Flood · Mar 5, 2022. A cluster/line of thunderstorms moved across southern Wisconsin the evening of March 5th. Within this line of storms, some briefly intense downburst winds occurred across portions of south central to east central Wisconsin. A brief tornado also occurred in southeast Dane county. Quite a bit of structural damage was noted to a number of farming sheds and buildings in areas of Dane, Rock and Fond du Lac counties.…
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 Fond du Lac 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.