Flood Help Guide

Cook County flood history

Illinois · From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

15,260NFIP flood claims since 1978
$139.8 millionPaid on those claims
$16,810Average paid claimlast 10 years
0.5%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
7Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 15,260 flood insurance claims in Cook County, Illinois since 1978. The NFIP paid $139.8 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2008, with 2,048, mostly from Hurricane Ike.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 989 claims, and the average paid claim was $16,810.

31% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 0.5% of homes in Cook County, Illinois had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (6,353 of 1,241,949 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 32% (4,016 of 12,558).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 7 flood-related disaster declarations covering Cook County, Illinois. The most recent was DR-4819-IL (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng), declared September 20, 2024.

NFIP claims by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Cook County, Illinois06251.2k1.9k2.5k1978: 101 claims, $144,054 paid1979: 349 claims, $912,791 paid1980: 103 claims, $101,039 paid19801981: 711 claims, $2.0 million paid1982: 925 claims, $2.3 million paid1983: 297 claims, $547,053 paid1984: 46 claims, $62,175 paid1985: 115 claims, $128,386 paid1986: 195 claims, $2.3 million paid1987: 939 claims, $8.5 million paid1988: 16 claims, $20,015 paid1989: 146 claims, $323,213 paid1990: 275 claims, $712,685 paid19901991: 62 claims, $60,237 paid1992: 20 claims, $16,887 paid1993: 97 claims, $271,143 paid1994: 35 claims, $59,397 paid1995: 36 claims, $44,415 paid1996: 625 claims, $2.1 million paid1997: 547 claims, $1.7 million paid1998: 55 claims, $111,449 paid1999: 95 claims, $187,033 paid2000: 62 claims, $53,543 paid20002001: 265 claims, $644,710 paid2002: 138 claims, $320,411 paid2003: 210 claims, $503,172 paid2004: 66 claims, $154,177 paid2005: 34 claims, $70,884 paid2006: 356 claims, $2.3 million paid2007: 330 claims, $2.2 million paid2008: 2,048 claims, $33.8 million paid2009: 117 claims, $610,165 paid2010: 1,559 claims, $18.1 million paid20102011: 608 claims, $7.3 million paid2012: 41 claims, $86,326 paid2013: 1,981 claims, $35.7 million paid2014: 384 claims, $2.2 million paid2015: 214 claims, $2.1 million paid2016: 68 claims, $584,208 paid2017: 140 claims, $1.1 million paid2018: 86 claims, $1.0 million paid2019: 84 claims, $912,446 paid2020: 290 claims, $4.9 million paid20202021: 67 claims, $641,125 paid2022: 23 claims, $498,925 paid2023: 124 claims, $638,827 paid2024: 41 claims, $153,523 paid2025: 43 claims, $326,534 paid2026: 91 claims, $341,616 paid
Claims per year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for details.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
202691$341,616
202543$326,534
202441$153,523
2023124$638,827
202223$498,925
202167$641,125
2020290$4.9 million
201984$912,446
201886$1.0 million
2017140$1.1 million
201668$584,208
2015214$2.1 million
2014384$2.2 million
20131,981$35.7 million
201241$86,326
2011608$7.3 million
20101,559$18.1 million
2009117$610,165
20082,048$33.8 million
2007330$2.2 million
2006356$2.3 million
200534$70,884
200466$154,177
2003210$503,172
2002138$320,411
2001265$644,710
200062$53,543
199995$187,033
199855$111,449
1997547$1.7 million
1996625$2.1 million
199536$44,415
199435$59,397
199397$271,143
199220$16,887
199162$60,237
1990275$712,685
1989146$323,213
198816$20,015
1987939$8.5 million
1986195$2.3 million
1985115$128,386
198446$62,175
1983297$547,053
1982925$2.3 million
1981711$2.0 million
1980103$101,039
1979349$912,791
1978101$144,054

Named flood events

EventYearClaimsPaid
Mid-spring storms20131,784$33.5 million
Hurricane Ike20081,826$33.1 million
Flooding1987892$8.5 million
Flooding1986176$2.3 million
Flooding1982647$1.9 million
Flooding1996502$1.7 million
Flooding1981423$1.5 million
Flooding1997349$870,543

How many homes have flood insurance

FEMA counts 6,353 residential NFIP policies in Cook County, against 1,241,949 residential buildings (0.5%). Of the 12,558 residential buildings in high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), 4,016 have an NFIP policy (32%). Private flood policies aren't in these counts.

Whether you're required to carry flood insurance depends on your flood zone and your mortgage. See do I need flood insurance?

Flood-related disaster declarations

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4819-IL Sep 20, 2024 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng Yes
DR-4749-IL Nov 20, 2023 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4728-IL Aug 15, 2023 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4116-IL May 10, 2013 Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding Yes
DR-1935-IL Aug 19, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1800-IL Oct 3, 2008 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1729-IL Sep 25, 2007 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes

Check your own address

County numbers can't tell you about a single building. Look up your property on FEMA's flood map, then read what your flood zone means. More counties: all of Illinois.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.