335 flood insurance claims·$7.2M paid·7 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 Butte County, California. 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.
River and roadway flooding resulting from winter storms and atmospheric rivers dominates the flood history of Butte County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 97 standard flood events compared to 9 flash flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a strong winter storm from February 3rd through 5th, 2025, that brought 2 to 5 inches of rain to the Valley and foothills, causing widespread roadway flooding, search and rescue efforts, and the closure of portions of Highway 99. Additionally, a warm atmospheric river system from February 1st through 2nd, 2025, dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain in the northern Sacramento Valley and foothills alongside 5 to 10 inches in the mountains, resulting in flooded and mud-covered roads.
Property owners in mapped high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas should pay close attention to these risks, as National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 217 claims with an average recorded water depth of 4 inches and an average payout of $26,907. Zone X records 105 claims with an average water depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $25,618. Though fewer in number, Zone X_SHADED properties have experienced significant impacts, with 4 claims averaging 19 inches of recorded water depth and an average payout of $103,441.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Butte County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
222 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 4 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 1998, with 59 claims and $825,718 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms and 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.
46 NOAA storm reports from Butte County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
39 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Park Fire | Jul 24, 2024 |
| Thompson Fire | Jul 2, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 31, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 9, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 27, 2022 |
| Bear Fire | Aug 17, 2020 |
| Wildfires | Aug 14, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
106 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 97 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 22, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2025 | $35,000 |
| Flood | Feb 3, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 25, 2025. A prolonged period of wet weather brought heavy snowfall and strong winds to the Sierra Nevada. Heaviest snowfall was observed from 12/24-12/26 when snow levels came down below the mountain passes. Snowfall measurements over the 12/24-12/26 timeframe were around 2-5 ft per Caltrans, Ski resorts, and UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. Southerly wind gusts of 50-80 mph were observed as well across the Valley, foot…
Flood · Dec 22, 2025. A series of atmospheric rivers brought moderate to heavy precipitation to interior northern California in the third week of December through the Christmas holiday. A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21. Heavy rain fell until around 7 PM, where there was a lull before another line redeveloped and brought additional moderate to heavy rain into the late evening. Over…
Flood · Dec 21, 2025. A series of atmospheric rivers brought moderate to heavy precipitation to interior northern California in the third week of December through the Christmas holiday. A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21. Heavy rain fell until around 7 PM, where there was a lull before another line redeveloped and brought additional moderate to heavy rain into the late evening. Over…
Flood · Nov 13, 2025. An Atmospheric River in the middle of November brought light mountain snow, widespread rainfall with roadway flooding, gusty winds, and thunderstorms from November 12th through November 14th. Around 1 to 4 inches of rain were observed across interior northern California over this 48 hour period. Gusty southerly winds of 25 to 65 mph were also observed as well. 4 to 12 inches of snow was estimated to have fallen at…
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 Butte 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.