352 flood insurance claims·$3.9M 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 Ozaukee 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 general flooding dominate the historical flood profile of Ozaukee County, supported by 26 recorded flood events and 1 death, alongside 15 flash flood events and 3 lakeshore flood events over the last 30 years. Severe weather impacts are exemplified by the historic flash flood and record rainfall of August 2025, which occurred when warm, moist, and unstable air rose along a stalled front, producing more than 10 inches of rain, widespread street, creek, river, and low-lying neighborhood flooding, and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages across Southeast Wisconsin.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that high-risk Zone A properties experience the highest volume of impacts, recording 260 claims with an average payout of $16,625 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Properties located in Zone X zones also face risk, with Zone X recording 62 claims averaging an $11,860 payout and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, Zone X_SHADED recording 15 claims averaging an $11,312 payout and an average recorded water depth of 33 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recording 14 claims averaging a $7,252 payout and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Property owners in high-risk Zone A, as well as those in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas experiencing significant recorded water depths, should pay the closest attention to flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Ozaukee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
289 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 15 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 97 claims and $1.5M 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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Ozaukee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 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 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 21, 1997 |
| Severe Storms & Hail | Jul 7, 1991 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
44 since 1996: 15 flash floods, 26 river or area floods and 3 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | $4,000 |
| Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2025 | $450,000 |
| Flood | Apr 19, 2023 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flood | May 18, 2020 | $2,000 |
| Flood | May 17, 2020 | $30,000 · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 11, 2025. A historic flash flood and record rainfall occurred over portions of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area and Southeast WI resulting in damages in the $100s Millions. Warm, moist, and unstable air rose along a stalled front to produce numerous thunderstorms and more than 10 inches of rain in many locations. Widespread flash flooding of streets, creeks, rivers, and low lying neighborhoods occurred. A homeless camp in Mi…
Flood · Aug 10, 2025. A historic flash flood and record rainfall occurred over portions of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area and Southeast WI resulting in damages in the $100s Millions. Warm, moist, and unstable air rose along a stalled front to produce numerous thunderstorms and more than 10 inches of rain in many locations. Widespread flash flooding of streets, creeks, rivers, and low lying neighborhoods occurred. A homeless camp in Mi…
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2025. A historic flash flood and record rainfall occurred over portions of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area and Southeast WI resulting in damages in the $100s Millions. Warm, moist, and unstable air rose along a stalled front to produce numerous thunderstorms and more than 10 inches of rain in many locations. Widespread flash flooding of streets, creeks, rivers, and low lying neighborhoods occurred. A homeless camp in Mi…
Flood · Apr 19, 2023. A surge of relatively mild, moist, and unstable air aloft brought rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms to southern WI. Numerous reports of large hail were received. Flash flooding and general flooding occurred in urban areas.
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 Ozaukee 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.