US Land Life

Mills County, IA

Flood Zones in Mills County, Iowa

Mills County's Missouri River flood risk is not a hypothetical FEMA line -- it is a documented, recent, and severe event. This page covers the county's 2019 levee failure, the two separate buyout programs that followed, and the floodplain development permit rules that apply to any new construction near the river.

This page covers what's specific to Mills County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

The 2019 flood: what actually happened

The Lower Missouri River has flooded three times in roughly 30 years -- 1993, 2011, and 2019 -- but the March 2019 event was the one that hit Mills County hardest. Heavy rainfall combined with rapid snowmelt sent river levels surging, and levees across the four-state region (Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas) were breached or overtopped along roughly 200 miles of levee. Mills County's own levee system failed, and the town of Pacific Junction -- southwest of Glenwood, with a pre-flood population of roughly 470 -- flooded in its entirety. In the aftermath, an estimated 75% of the town's residents left permanently; population estimates from local reporting put the town's post-flood population under 100.

The Iowa Flood Center, a University of Iowa research center, participated in a joint Mills/Fremont county resiliency assessment that produced the Missouri River Flood Information System (MRFIS), a public tool for tracking river conditions and flood risk along this stretch of the Missouri. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds toured flood damage in Pacific Junction directly in the aftermath, underscoring the scale of the event at the state level.

The buyout programs: two separate efforts, two separate scopes

Two distinct buyout efforts followed the 2019 flood, and it's worth keeping them separate when researching a specific parcel. First, within Pacific Junction itself, 92 homes were identified as likely candidates for federal buyout, coordinated through the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) -- the regional planning agency serving Mills and Pottawattamie counties in southwest Iowa alongside four counties across the river in Nebraska. Second, and separately, Mills County ran its own rural buyout program covering 54 properties outside Pacific Junction, for a combined total of roughly $9 million. The average payout in the county program was about $183,000, with a high of $402,938 and a low of $92,657, reflecting the range of property values and damage severity involved.

For a land buyer, the practical implication is that some parcels in and around Pacific Junction and the surrounding rural flood zone may already be vacant, publicly owned, or subject to deed restrictions against future residential rebuilding as a condition of the buyout funding (a standard FEMA/HUD buyout requirement designed to prevent repetitive flood-loss claims). Before purchasing any parcel in this area, ask Mills County directly whether it was part of either buyout program and what restrictions, if any, run with the land.

Floodplain development permits: Chapter 26 and the 1-foot freeboard standard

Outside the buyout footprint, new construction or substantial improvement anywhere in a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area in unincorporated Mills County requires a floodplain development permit under Chapter 26 (Flood Plain Management Ordinance), administered by the county's Building & Zoning Department. The ordinance requires that substantially improved residential buildings be elevated at least 1.0 foot above the 100-year (base) flood elevation; non-residential buildings must either meet that same elevation standard or be flood-proofed to an equivalent level, with certification required as a condition of the permit. FEMA's flood-zone designations that apply in the county include Zone A, A1-30, AE, AH, AO, AR, and A99 -- each carries different mapping and insurance implications, so identify a specific parcel's zone from the current FIRM rather than assuming based on general proximity to the river.

Because Mills County's flood maps and buyout-area boundaries can change as FEMA updates its Flood Insurance Rate Maps and as buyout programs continue to be administered, treat this page as a starting point rather than a final answer for any specific parcel. Contact the Building & Zoning Department directly (below) to confirm a parcel's current flood-zone status, whether it falls within either buyout program's footprint, and what permit and elevation requirements would apply to any planned construction.

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Sources

  1. Chapter 26: Flood Plain Management Ordinance — Mills County, Iowa Government (accessed 2026-09)
  2. Building & Zoning — Mills County, Iowa Government (accessed 2026-09)
  3. Some Southwest Iowa Communities Start Process To Buy Out Flood-Damaged Homes — Iowa Public Radio (accessed 2026-09)
  4. Mills County backs flood-damaged property buyouts — KMA Land (accessed 2026-09)
  5. County Completing Buyouts Of Flooded Properties — The Opinion-Tribune (accessed 2026-09)
  6. It's tough to look back: 3 Years after historic flood, Pacific Junction, Iowa continues to rebuild — 3 News Now (KMTV Omaha) (accessed 2026-09)
  7. Almost three years later, western Iowa towns’ flood recovery is far from complete — Iowa Public Radio (accessed 2026-09)
  8. Kim Reynolds surveys flood damage in Pacific Junction, says Iowans are 'resilient' — Omaha.com (accessed 2026-09)
  9. Historic Midwest Flooding Likely to Cost at Least $1.3 Billion in Nebraska Alone — Weather.com (accessed 2026-09)
  10. About MRFIS (Missouri River Flood Information System) — Iowa Flood Center, University of Iowa (accessed 2026-09)

Last reviewed 2026-09