60
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
50
Direct injuries
$6.2M
Property damage
Flood in Wapello County, Iowa: 60 recorded events between 1998 and 2019. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #184 nationally and #17 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in Wapello County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in Wapello County is the 2010s, when 44 of the county's 60 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Wapello County archive, flood makes up 10.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #184 for this hazard and #17 within Iowa, putting it in the 93.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for flood in Wapello County with 13 recorded events, while Nov is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2010 | EDDYVILLE | 0 | 0 | 50 | $10K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $0 |
| May 26, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $50K |
| May 22, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $50K |
| May 19, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $0 |
| May 17, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $50K |
| Apr 29, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $50K |
| Mar 12, 2019 | ELDON | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2017 | ELDON | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Wapello County
- Thunderstorm Wind 262
- Hail 125
- Heavy Rain 76
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Des Moines River at Ottumwa crested several times at the end of May. The first crest was at 12.51 feet on 25 May 2019 at 16:30 UTC, the second crest at 13.43 feet on 28 May 2019 at 02:40 UTC, and the third crest at 16.28 feet on 29 May 2019 at 20:10 UTC.
The Des Moines River at Ottumwa crested at 12.1 feet on 18 May 2019 at 00:50 UTC. While heavy rain did fall at times during the period, the majority of the reason the river is in flood was due to increased releases from Lake Red Rock.
The Des Moines River at Ottumwa crested at 13.53 feet on 19 May 2019 at 12:10 UTC. While heavy rain did fall at times during the period, the majority of the reason the river is in flood was due to increased releases from Lake Red Rock.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in Wapello County, Iowa?
60 flood events are recorded in Wapello County between 1998 and 2019, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in Wapello County?
The strongest flood on record in Wapello County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for Wapello County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flood in Wapello County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/wapello-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.