37 flood insurance claims·$454,598 paid·9 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 Del Norte 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.
16% of Del Norte County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
32 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 5 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 1997, with 7 claims and $254,754 paid.
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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Del Norte County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Wildfires | Sep 4, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 24, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Tsunami Waves | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides | Dec 17, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
13 since 1996: 2 flash floods, 9 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 16, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Dec 14, 2016 | $583,700 |
| Flood | Dec 28, 2008 | $7,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 13, 2024. An atmospheric river sank south and stalled over Humboldt, Del Norte, and western Trinity counties, bringing widespread rains between 3 and 7 inches to the region. Rain fell over a short period of time, 8-10 hours, resulting in the highest flows on the Mad River and Redwood Creek since the 1970s. Widespread creek flooding occurred in Del Norte and Humboldt counties with multiple homes damages or destroyed.
Coastal Flood · Jan 5, 2023. A quasi-stationary westerly upper flow regime yielded multiple atmospheric rivers over Northwest California during the first two weeks of January. Impacts from these events were widespread, both in terms of flooding and wind damage.
Flood · Jan 16, 2019. An atmospheric river spread across northern California and produced heavy rain that led to localized flooding.
Flood · Mar 22, 2018. A late season atmospheric river impacted northwest California during late March. Localized flooding, rock slides, and high elevation snowfall were observed.
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 Del Norte 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.