3 flood insurance claims·$16,929 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 Lincoln 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 2023, with 1 claims and $16,351 paid.
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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Lincoln County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Sep 2, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Winds, Hail & Rain | Aug 5, 1977 |
| 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.
11 since 1996: 1 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 4, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2017 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2005 | — |
| Flood | May 11, 2003 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2002 | — |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2002 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 4, 2018. Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a slow moving cold front in a very moist and unstable air mass. The storms produced a wind gust to 63 mph in Wausau (Marathon Co.) and torrential rainfall. Twenty-four hour rainfall totals through early on the morning of September 5th were in excess of 3 inches at numerous locations. Sections of several streets in Merrill (Lincoln Co.) were closed due to flooding and th…
Flood · Jun 11, 2017. More thunderstorms developed later on the afternoon of June 11th in the vicinity of a surface frontal boundary. The storms downed trees and power lines across parts of northern Wisconsin and produced torrential rainfall that caused street flooding in Lac du Flambeau (Vilas Co.), Merrill (Lincoln Co.) and Antigo (Langlade Co.).
Flood · Sep 23, 2010. An excessive rainfall event, with amounts of 3 to 6 inches, occurred across parts of central and northeast Wisconsin starting on the evening of September 22 and lasting through the morning hours of September 23. The initial band of heavy rain formed along a warm front that extended across north-central Wisconsin. Additional rains were a result of a cold front that moved across the state on September 23.||The hea…
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2010. An excessive rainfall event, with amounts of 3 to 6 inches, occurred across parts of central and northeast Wisconsin starting on the evening of September 22 and lasting through the morning hours of September 23. The initial band of heavy rain formed along a warm front that extended across north-central Wisconsin. Additional rains were a result of a cold front that moved across the state on September 23.||The hea…
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 Lincoln 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.