470 flood insurance claims·$6.3M paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Yavapai County, Arizona. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe weather and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk in Yavapai County, accounting for 318 recorded events and 6 deaths over the last 30 years compared to 39 standard flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a slow-moving low-pressure system that produced heavy rain over saturated ground on November 18, 2025, and a convective system from northern Mexico that brought thunderstorms and heavy rain on August 25, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest concentration in Zone A at 285 claims averaging a payout of $23,039 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Properties in Zone X also experienced significant risk, logging 86 claims with an average payout of $19,499 and a higher average recorded water depth of 21 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk, given the frequency of claims in Zone A and the substantial average water depths recorded in Zone X.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Yavapai County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
325 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1993, with 80 claims and $1.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
48 NOAA storm reports from Yavapai County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arizona flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Crooks Fire | Apr 18, 2022 |
| Spur Fire | May 27, 2021 |
| 89 East Fire | May 11, 2018 |
| Goodwin Fire | Jun 24, 2017 |
| Tenderfoot Fire | Jun 8, 2016 |
| Yarnell Hill Fire | Jun 30, 2013 |
| Doce Fire | Jun 18, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Jan 18, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
357 since 1996: 318 flash floods and 39 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 18, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 11, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 28, 2025. An early season low pressure system moved into southeastern California and cut off from the main steering flow. Leftover monsoon moisture from the subtropics combined with the stalled low pressure system and brought a 4 day period of severe weather and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 26, 2025. An early season low pressure system moved into southeastern California and cut off from the main steering flow. Leftover monsoon moisture from the subtropics combined with the stalled low pressure system and brought a 4 day period of severe weather and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2025. Deep monsoon moisture led to multiple thunderstorms throughout the day. Some of the storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2025. A large mesoscale convective system formed over northern Mexico and moved north into Arizona. This feature produced severe weather in southern Arizona and a large haboob dust storm that tracked all the way into southern Yavapai County. The following thunderstorms progressed through northern Arizona and produced heavy rain and some flash flooding.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Yavapai County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.