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DeKalb County, IL flood insurance claims history
404 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in DeKalb County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $4.6M on them. The worst year was 1996 with 89 claims. DeKalb County ranks #22 of 101 in Illinois by claim count.
At a glance
- 25% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- Flood claims were filed in 4 of the last 10 years.
- More flood claims than 79% of the 101 Illinois counties with any claims on file — and more than 4 of its 8 neighbors.
- ZIP 60115 has the most claims in the county (196, 49%). Check your ZIP →
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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 DeKalb County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 80 | $986K | $12K | 1996 |
| Hurricane Ike | 29 | $446K | $15K | 2008 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 28 | $146K | $5K | 1997 |
| Mid-spring storms | 11 | $69K | $6K | 2013 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 11 | $21K | $2K | 1982 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 1 | $4K | $4K | 1987 |
| Midwest Flooding | 1 | $0 | $0 | 1993 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 1 | $9K | $9K | 1985 |
40% of claims here fall under these 8 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 →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 258 | $3.4M | $13K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 87 | $870K | $10K |
| Zone not recorded | 59 | $301K | $5K |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 193 | 48% |
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 151 | 37% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 51 | 13% |
| Other causes | 4 | 1% |
| Earth movement or landslide | 2 | 0% |
| Not recorded | 2 | 0% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in DeKalb County
11 ZIP codes in DeKalb County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to DeKalb County.
| 60115 | 196 | $2.1M | 49% | 20 | 2021 |
| 60178 | 155 | $1.6M | 38% | 18 | 2021 |
| 60146 | 30 | $441K | 7% | 5 | 2010 |
| 60520 | 11 | $253K | 3% | 4 | 2026 |
| 60548 | 3 | $27K | 1% | 3 | 2019 |
| 60550 | 2 | $7K | 0% | 2 | 1997 |
| 60112 | 2 | $88K | 0% | 2 | 2007 |
| Not reported | 2 | $8K | 0% | 2 | 1983 |
| 60135 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1979 |
| 60119 | 1 | $9K | 0% | 1 | 2008 |
| 60145 | 1 | $29K | 0% | 1 | 1996 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does DeKalb County flood?
July accounts for the most flood losses (163 claims, 40%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 0% |
| February | 33 | 8% |
| March | 14 | 3% |
| April | 13 | 3% |
| May | 21 | 5% |
| June | 19 | 5% |
| July | 163 | 40% |
| August | 85 | 21% |
| September | 48 | 12% |
| October | 0 | 0% |
| November | 0 | 0% |
| December | 7 | 2% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | $7K |
| 2021 | 2 | $0 |
| 2020 | 3 | $38K |
| 2019 | 1 | $7K |
| 2013 | 11 | $69K |
| 2011 | 1 | $0 |
| 2010 | 9 | $137K |
| 2008 | 32 | $489K |
| 2007 | 79 | $1.7M |
| 2004 | 5 | $23K |
| 2003 | 1 | $0 |
| 2002 | 5 | $24K |
| 1999 | 13 | $128K |
| 1997 | 30 | $158K |
| 1996 | 89 | $1.1M |
| 1994 | 4 | $0 |
| 1993 | 1 | $0 |
| 1991 | 2 | $0 |
| 1987 | 2 | $5K |
| 1985 | 1 | $9K |
| 1983 | 65 | $583K |
| 1982 | 15 | $24K |
| 1980 | 9 | $14K |
| 1979 | 15 | $34K |
| 1978 | 8 | $14K |
Neighboring counties
DeKalb County borders 8 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb County (this page) | 404 | $4.6M | 25% |
| Winnebago County | 1,729 | $27.3M | 17% |
| McHenry County | 987 | $7.6M | 19% |
| Kane County | 929 | $11.6M | 31% |
| LaSalle County | 680 | $12.7M | 26% |
| Ogle County | 308 | $3.5M | 12% |
| Kendall County | 175 | $3.1M | 45% |
| Lee County | 142 | $730K | 23% |
| Boone County | 46 | $271K | 25% |
All 101 Illinois counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in DeKalb County
- Has DeKalb County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-07-05, and claims were filed in 4 of the last 10 years (7 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 25% of DeKalb 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 17037, 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.