145 flood insurance claims·$2.4M paid·3 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 Waupaca 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.
3% of Waupaca County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
131 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 14 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 2026, with 70 claims and $2.1M 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Waupaca County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 18, 2019 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 7, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Sep 2, 2002 |
| Flooding, Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 10, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 27, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
13 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2024 | $260,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 15, 2019 | $87,500 |
| Flood | Jun 12, 2017 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2025. Thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front during the afternoon hours on Sunday (6/29) across central and east-central Wisconsin. The strongest storms produced damaging winds, hail up to half dollar size, and flash flooding as 2 to 3 inches of rain fell across the area.
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2024. An area of low pressure slowly tracked east across east-central Wisconsin to central Lake Michigan through the day on Friday (7/5). Showers and thunderstorms developed shortly after daybreak and then became more concentrated during the mid-morning into the early afternoon. A cluster of showers and thunderstorms became slow moving over Waupaca County, resulting in 4 to 6 inches of rain with the city of Manawa measu…
Flash Flood · Aug 27, 2021. Thunderstorms developed north of a warm front then tracked east during the late afternoon hours and into the evening. There was an isolated report of wind damage and several rounds of thunderstorms produced flash flooding during the overnight hours across portions of central Wisconsin as 3 to 5 inches of rain fell.
Flood · Mar 15, 2019. Several locations across northeast Wisconsin had snow depths around a foot or more above normal for late February and early March. Temperatures across central and northern Wisconsin warmed above freezing during the daytime hours starting around March 8th. Rain accompanied the warmer temperatures, and the runoff from the combination of rain and rapidly melting snow caused flooding of streams, rivers, ditches, roads…
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 Waupaca 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.