75 flood insurance claims·$659,336 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 Pepin 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 character of Pepin County, supported by NOAA storm event records showing nine flash flood events compared to six general flood events over the last 30 years.
Severe weather events have historically caused significant local impacts. For example, a heavy rain event from August 16th through August 18th, 2025, dropped 5 to 7 inches of rain over 72 hours, resulting in at least one flooded roadway. Additionally, a severe spring snowmelt along the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers and their tributaries occurred during the last two weeks of March 2019, driven by an above-average snowpack, cold late-winter temperatures, and subsequent warming storms.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA Flood Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of historical insurance activity in the county with 71 claims averaging a $10,420 payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone X zones should also note the presence of limited claims, including unshaded Zone X claims averaging a $27,118 payout with 0 inches of recorded water depth.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Pepin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
73 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 5 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 2001, with 18 claims and $225,544 paid, the year of Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes.
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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Pepin 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 |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Flooding, Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 10, 2001 |
| Severe Storms,straigh Line Winds, Tornadoes,rain,and Floodi | Jun 18, 1998 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 14, 1992 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Hail & Tornadoes | Jul 7, 1978 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flash Floods | Sep 15, 1975 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
15 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 15, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2017 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2009 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2009 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2009 | $200,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2025. Several individual rounds of thunderstorms impacted western Wisconsin from Friday, August 16th through Sunday, August 18th. Heavy rain amounts on the order of 5-7 inches fell over the course of 72 hours, most of which fell from late Saturday into early Sunday, leading to at least one flooded roadway in Pepin County.
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 · Jul 19, 2017. Several thunderstorms trained over the same areas of east central, and southeast Minnesota, and the adjacent counties in west central Wisconsin, along the Mississippi River. Several inches of rain led to a rock slide along a bluff near Stockholm. Water and debris was also reported on a road near intersection of Hwy 35 and Co Rd A in Pierce County.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2010. A complex of thunderstorms that moved across southern Minnesota during the late afternoon and evening hours of June 26th, moved into west-central Wisconsin and produced some minor wind damage in Maiden Rock. However, most of the severe weather was related to flash flooding that caused several areas to be impassible during the height of the storm. Some of the most significant flooding occurred Pepin, and Baldwin, W…
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 Pepin 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.