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Cook County, IL flood insurance claims history

15,260 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Cook County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $139.8M on them. The worst year was 2008 with 2,048 claims. Cook County ranks #1 of 101 in Illinois by claim count.

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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Cook County

44% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

What caused the flooding

Flood claims by ZIP code in Cook County

182 ZIP codes in Cook County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Cook County.

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Cook County flood?

July accounts for the most flood losses (3,623 claims, 24%). Claims by month of loss:

Year-by-year detail

Neighboring counties

Cook County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

All 101 Illinois counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Cook County

Has Cook County flooded recently?

Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-15, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (989 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.

Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?

Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 31% of Cook County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?

Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.

Why might the real number of floods be higher?

Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 17031, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.