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FEMA flood zones · California

Modoc County, California Flood Zone Map

7 federal flood & hurricane disasters

11% of Modoc County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Modoc 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.

In their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Modoc County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →

Federal disasters

17 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And MudslidesFeb 21, 2023
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And MudslidesFeb 13, 2019
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And MudslidesFeb 1, 2017
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And MudslidesJan 18, 2017
Day FireAug 1, 2014
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationAug 29, 2005
Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And LandslidesDec 28, 1996
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud FlowFeb 13, 1995

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

14 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
FloodFeb 3, 2025$1.0M
FloodApr 10, 2019—
FloodApr 9, 2019—
Flash FloodApr 8, 2019—
FloodFeb 22, 2017—
FloodJan 8, 2017—
FloodFeb 7, 2017—
Flash FloodMay 19, 2015—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flood · Feb 3, 2025. Nearly two days of heavy rain, with amounts of around 1.50 to 2.50 inches, combined with snow melt to produce major flooding on the Pit River near Canby. The peak was the fourth highest on record.

Flood · Apr 10, 2019. Heavy rain (by April standards) combined with snowmelt caused a number of area rivers to flood.

Flood · Apr 9, 2019. Two days of very heavy rainfall (compared to April normals) combined with snowmelt led to areal flooding in northeast California.

Flash Flood · Apr 8, 2019. A storm system moved into the Pacific Northwest and northern California the afternoon and evening of the 8th, which brought bands of rain into the morning hours of the 9th. The heaviest rainfall occurred across the Surprise valley, which lead to flash flooding.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Modoc County

If a building in Modoc 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.