4 flood insurance claims·$11,669 paid·8 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 Inyo 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and slow-moving weather systems dominates the flood risk profile in Inyo County. Over the last 30 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded 229 flash flood events resulting in two deaths, alongside 24 standard flood events.
Recent occurrences illustrate these weather patterns. In February 2025, low pressure directed an atmospheric river into the region, bringing moderate to heavy rain to lower elevations and heavy snow to the mountains. Later that year, in June 2025, an upper-level low pulled moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Alvin into the Desert Southwest, fueling thunderstorms that produced severe weather and flash flooding.
Federal Emergency Management Agency records show limited National Flood Insurance Program claim history, consisting of three claims in unknown zones with an average payout of $3,804 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and one claim in an unshaded Zone X with an average payout of $4,062 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in unmapped, unknown, or unshaded zones should pay the most attention, as historical data shows flood impacts can still occur outside traditional mapped high-risk areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1983, with 1 claims and $5,000 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Inyo County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Hilary | Aug 19, 2023 |
| 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 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 18, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Debris And Mud Flows | Dec 17, 2010 |
| Inyo Fire Complex | Jul 7, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
253 since 1996: 229 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 29, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 21, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 18, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 15, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 15, 2025 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 29, 2025. Low pressure moved very slowly east from the eastern Pacific across the Mojave Desert, triggering scattered thunderstorms for a few days. Several storms produced severe weather and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2025. Southeasterly flow advected in monsoon moisture, fueling scattered thunderstorms, some of which produced flash flooding and severe winds.
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2025. Southeasterly flow advected in monsoon moisture, fueling scattered thunderstorms, some of which produced flash flooding and severe winds.
Flash Flood · Nov 21, 2025. The last in a series of low pressure systems moving in from the Pacific brought isolated 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 Inyo 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.