6 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 Mariposa 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.
Standard river and stream flooding dominates the historical record in Mariposa County, accounting for 98 out of 105 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 flash flood events that resulted in 2 deaths.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these localized hazards. On February 13, 2025, a large upper low-pressure system and associated trough brought widespread moderate to heavy precipitation and damaging winds, resulting in several reports of nuisance flooding alongside downed trees and power lines, with wind gusts near 90 mph recorded at some stations and heavy snow in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Later, on March 17, 2025, an upper trough and cold front brought additional rain, mountain snow above 6,000 feet, and afternoon thunderstorms that produced localized nuisance flooding.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located near rivers, streams, and low-lying areas prone to rising waters and localized nuisance flooding during winter storms and cold front passages.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
73 NOAA storm reports from Mariposa County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| French Fire | Jul 4, 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, And Mudslides | Jan 8, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 27, 2022 |
| Oak Fire | Jul 22, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 24, 2019 |
| Railroad Fire | Aug 29, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
105 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 98 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 24, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 15, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 17, 2025. An upper trough and associated cold front pushed through central California on March 17 bringing rain, mountain snow mainly above 6000 feet and gusty winds across the West Side Hills and to portions of eastern Kern County. The precipitation arrived by the morning of March 17 and spread southward through the day. Thunderstorms broke out during the afternoon of March 17 in the cooler and unstable airmass behind the…
Flood · Feb 13, 2025. A large upper low pressure system and associated trough moved across California on February 13 bringing widespread moderate to heavy precipitation to the area along with damaging wind gusts. Several reports of nuisance flooding were reported on February 13. There were also several reports of trees and power lines knocked down by strong wind gusts as several station reported gusts above 60 mph and a few stations ha…
Flood · Jan 22, 2024. Following the departure of a storm which brought light to moderate precipitation to the area between the morning of January 20 and the early afternoon of January 21, a second system moved through central California between the late evening of January 21 and the afternoon of January 22. This system produced three quarters to an inch and a half of rainfall over Merced County and a half inch to an inch of liquid pre…
Flood · Feb 24, 2023. A large cold upper low pressure system dropped slowly southward off the California coast on February 24 and 25. This system brought 1.5 to 3 inches of liquid precipitation between the early morning of February 24 and the late morning of February 25 to the Sierra Nevada and adjacent foothills as well as to the Tehachapi Mountains and the San Joaquin Valley. This was a cold storm with snow levels lowering from aroun…
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 Mariposa 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.