126 flood insurance claims·$2.8M 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County, based on 11 flash flood events compared to 6 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events regularly threaten the region, such as in July 2017 when training thunderstorms caused a rock slide along a bluff near Stockholm and deposited water and debris on a road near the intersection of Highway 35 and County Road A. Another severe event occurred in August 2010, bringing rainfall rates as high as 2 inches per hour from Prescott northeast to River Falls and causing significant flash flooding.
Property owners in FEMA-designated Zone A face the highest concentration of risk, accounting for 107 National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $27,002 and an average recorded water depth of 27 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone X should also pay close attention; while fewer in number, 15 claims in this zone resulted in a higher average payout of $53,659 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches. Journalists and prospective buyers should note that significant flood damages extend beyond traditional high-risk areas into moderate- and low-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Pierce County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
108 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 25 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 32 claims and $645,250 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Pierce 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 | Jul 24, 1980 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Hail & Tornadoes | Jul 7, 1978 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
17 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2009 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Mar 30, 2005 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2005 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2020. During the evening of Sunday, June 28th, a complex of thunderstorms that developed across Iowa previously, moved slowly northward across southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin before stalling Monday morning. During the onset of the heavier rainfall, a few storms caused wind damage near Tainter Lake and Colfax, but most of the damage was minor with a few large tree limbs and power lines blown down. ||Deep moistur…
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…
Flood · Sep 23, 2010. A strong storm system, in combination with deep moisture from the remnants of a tropical system, produced a large area of heavy rainfall with amounts as high as 3 to 5 inches in an 18 hour period. ||The main area of precipitation occurred across southern Minnesota, and portions of west central Wisconsin, between 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 22nd, to 9:00 a.m., Thursday, September 23rd. ||Some of the smaller r…
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 Pierce 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.