201 flood insurance claims·$3.1M paid·13 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 Humboldt 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 general flooding dominate the historical flood record in Humboldt County, accounting for 94 of the last 30 years of NOAA-recorded flood events, alongside minor occurrences of coastal flooding, flash floods, and storm surge. This risk is driven by atmospheric rivers and winter storms, such as the series of storms in December 2025 that brought heavy rain and caused the Mad and Eel Rivers to exceed moderate flood stage, as well as strong coastal flooding events recorded in November 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A registering the highest claim volume at 140 claims with an average payout of $22,337 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Shaded and unshaded Zone X properties also recorded significant claims, including 23 claims in
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
23% of Humboldt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
182 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 11 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 1995, with 42 claims and $255,263 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mud Flows and Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow.
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.
47 NOAA storm reports from Humboldt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 13 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, And Mudslides | Jan 8, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 27, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 24, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 3, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides | Dec 17, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
102 since 1996: 2 flash floods, 94 river or area floods and 6 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 24, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 22, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Dec 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 6, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 5, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 24, 2025. After a very wet period from December 19th-21st, another round of storms brought more rain and damaging winds to the region in the days leading up to Christmas. Impacts were felt across the region from December 23rd to the 26th. The worst of the winds impacts Mendocino County where most of the coast lost power, some areas for more than 24 hours.
Flood · Dec 22, 2025. Beginning mid-December, a series of storm systems impacted Northwest California with the first set of storms bringing particularly heavy rain from December 19th through December 21st. The heaviest rain occurred in Humboldt County, but impacts were felt across the Northwest California region. Both small stream and main stem river flooding occurred during the event with the Mad and Eel Rivers exceeding moderate floo…
Flood · Dec 21, 2025. Beginning mid-December, a series of storm systems impacted Northwest California with the first set of storms bringing particularly heavy rain from December 19th through December 21st. The heaviest rain occurred in Humboldt County, but impacts were felt across the Northwest California region. Both small stream and main stem river flooding occurred during the event with the Mad and Eel Rivers exceeding moderate floo…
Flood · Dec 19, 2025. Beginning mid-December, a series of storm systems impacted Northwest California with the first set of storms bringing particularly heavy rain from December 19th through December 21st. The heaviest rain occurred in Humboldt County, but impacts were felt across the Northwest California region. Both small stream and main stem river flooding occurred during the event with the Mad and Eel Rivers exceeding moderate floo…
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 Humboldt 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.