Indiana floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 92 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 6,083 floods and flash floods in Indiana from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 195 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 20, 2020 flash flood in Franklin County: 6 deaths and $114,000 in damage in 2025 dollars. Indiana ranks 11th of 52 states and territories by count and 11th of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Indiana, 1996 to 2026
Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 6,0831996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 195average
- Deaths
- 8323 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $2.8Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2008584 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are floods and flash floods common in Indiana?
Indiana averages about 195 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 11th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2008 (584). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Indiana records 1698 floods and flash floods since 1996, 11th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Indiana have the most floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Vanderburgh County leads Indiana: 132 days with a flood since 1996, 565.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Gibson County has the most flood records (317 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is flood season in Indiana?
Indiana's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is June (1,000 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 617 · Feb 544 · Mar 638 · Apr 739 · May 824 · Jun 1,000 · Jul 692 · Aug 265 · Sep 285 · Oct 109 · Nov 96 · Dec 274 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Indiana?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-20 | Flash FloodLaurel, Franklin County A bridge collapsed on Sanes Creek Road near Tee Hill Road due to flash flooding on Sanes Creek. Two vehicles were swept into the water, leading to six fatalities. M48VE, M47VE, F35VE, M13VE, F7VE, F4VE. | 6 | 0 | $114K | |
| 2026-03-09 | FloodLawrenceport, Lawrence County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. During March 3 to March 7, 2026, large surface high pressure from the southeastern United States into the Atlantic focused a broad fetch of Gulf moisture northward into the Midwest. A quasi-stationary frontal boundary near the Ohio Valley provided lift and focused, at times heavy rainfall over much of central Indiana, ... | 4 | 0 | $115K | |
| 2014-04-05 | FloodMt Tabor, Monroe County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2014-04-05 to 2014-04-07; the totals are the episode's. The heaviest and most widespread rains of the month occurred at the beginning of April. Storms from the 2nd through the 4th dumped 2 to 6 inches of rain on central and southern Indiana. Central Indiana experienced widespread areal flooding from the 3rd through the 4th. Two deaths were attributed to the river flooding ... | 3 | 0 | $12K | |
| 2008-06-07 | Flash FloodNortonsburg, Bartholomew County One storm episode: 11 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. Massive and historic flash flooding struck central Indiana. The Great Flood of June 2008 was one of Indiana's costliest natural disasters. Major roads and interstates flooded. Heavy rainfall on May 30th allowed streams and rivers to rise. Additional heavy rainfall on the 3rd and the 4th added to these high levels. ... | 3 | 0 | $389M | |
| 2008-02-05 | FloodEffner, Newton County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Heavy rain fell onto saturated and frozen ground across northwest Indiana which produced flash flooding on February 4th and 5th. Flooding then continued for several days. | 3 | 0 | $3.4M | |
| 2006-05-25 | Flash FloodLeopold, Perry County Three were killed when a pickup truck was washed away by flood waters while attempting to cross a normally dry creek bed. One child was able to swim away from the truck and was uninjured. | 3 | 0 | $15K | |
| 2004-01-04 | FloodJackson County · forecast zone Jackson One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The grounds were still rather saturated at the start of the New Year from the December heavy rain episodes when from the 1st to the 5th of January another 2-2.5 inches of rain fell across most locales north of Interstate 70 and as much as 5 inches of rain fell south of Interstate 70 (many locations recorded new daily ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-06-26 | Flash FloodNoblesville, Hamilton County RTV6 reported that a Noblesville man and a teenage girl were killed in a one-car crash after encountering flooding on a Hamilton County road early Saturday morning. The man, 39, was driving with three juveniles on Promise Road north of 181st Street just before 12:30 AM EDT. The high water caused his car to go off the ... | 2 | 2 | $26K | |
| 2007-08-24 | FloodValparaiso, Porter County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Powerful, severe storms moved across northwest Indiana during the afternoon and evening hours of August 23rd. | 2 | 1 | $7.2M | |
| 2008-01-08 | FloodRochester, Fulton County One storm episode: 5 records in 4 places, 2008-01-08 to 2008-01-09; the totals are the episode's. An unseasonable moist atmosphere and slow moving cold front set the stage for the training of rain and thunderstorms across much of northern Indiana. In addition, a dense snowpack rapidly melted as a result of the warm temperatures and rainfall, resulting in rapid rises on river and streams as well as widespread ... | 2 | 1 | $3.9M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in Indiana
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-04 | FloodCenterton, Morgan County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places, 2008-06-04 to 2008-06-05; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $600M | |
| 2008-06-05 | FloodGarden, Bartholomew County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places, 2008-06-05 to 2008-06-07; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $535M | |
| 2008-06-07 | Flash FloodNortonsburg, Bartholomew County One storm episode: 11 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 3 | 0 | $389M | |
| 2008-06-01 | FloodTerre Haute, Vigo County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2008-06-01 to 2008-06-02; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $178M | |
| 2008-06-04 | FloodBowling Green, Clay County | 0 | 0 | $123M | |
| 2003-07-06 | FloodHamilton County · forecast zone Hamilton One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places, 2003-07-06 to 2003-07-07; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $78M | |
| 1997-03-02 | FloodFloyd County · forecast zone Floyd One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $71M | |
| 2003-07-05 | FloodTippecanoe County and White County · forecast zone Tippecanoe One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places, 2003-07-05 to 2003-07-07; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $54M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in Indiana?
Indiana's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Indiana | United States | Indiana's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 918 | 20,986 | 4.4% |
| 2000s | 2,889 | 54,913 | 5.3% |
| 2010s | 1,581 | 68,322 | 2.3% |
| 2020-26 | 695 | 43,563 | 1.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Indiana
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodHuntingburg, Dubois County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodBecks Mill, Washington County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodCelestine, Dubois County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodNew Pekin, Washington County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodFreddricksburg, Washington County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodLonetree, Greene County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2026-06-27 | FloodWhitfield, Martin County | 0 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodNatchez, Martin County | 0 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2026-06-27 | Flash FloodWhite Rose, Greene County | 0 | 0 | $150K | |
| 2026-06-26 | Flash FloodHillcrest, Harrison County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-26 | Flash FloodHitchcock Station, Washington County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-26 | Flash FloodMartinsburg, Washington County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Indiana
FEMA has declared 34 disasters in Indiana for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 33 were major disasters, the latest on August 25, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-25 | DR-4933 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 30 |
| 2026-08-15 | EM-3651 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 53 |
| 2025-07-22 | DR-4882 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 25 |
| 2018-05-04 | DR-4363 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 31 |
| 2009-04-22 | DR-1832 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 16 |
| 2008-09-23 | DR-1795 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 38 |
| 2008-06-08 | DR-1766 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 50 |
| 2008-01-30 | DR-1740 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 21 |
| 2007-11-30 | DR-1732 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
| 2006-10-06 | DR-1662 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 3 |
| 2005-01-21 | DR-1573 | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding | 87 |
| 2004-09-01 | DR-1542 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding | 20 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Vanderburgh County: the county's whole recordThe Indiana county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in IndianaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Indiana16,768 records
- Hail in Indiana7,627 records
- Winter storms in Indiana5,852 records