46 flood insurance claims·$384,887 paid·7 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 Mono 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.
Mono County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by standard flood events over flash floods, with 14 floods and 10 flash floods recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent historical events illustrate these hazards, such as a June 2024 flood driven by monsoonal moisture surges and increased shower and thunderstorm chances across the Sierra. Another significant flood event occurred in March 2023, when rising snow levels up to 7,000 feet and heavy rainfall increased the possibility of flooding along lower elevation creeks and streams, accompanied by damaging winds and heavy, wet snow.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data show payouts occurring across multiple zones. Zone A recorded 17 claims with an average payout of $12,354 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 16 claims with an average payout of $10,714 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Additionally, Zone UNKNOWN logged 8 claims averaging $7,252 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X recorded 5 claims averaging $7,695 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Based on this zone and claim distribution, property owners in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk, given that this zone accounts for the highest claim volume and the deepest average recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
48% of Mono County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 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 16 claims and $194,580 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Mono County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 7 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, And Mudslides | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 18, 2017 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Landslides | Dec 28, 1996 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow | Feb 13, 1995 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 25, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 3, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 6, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jul 19, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 18, 2015 | $300,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2013 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 25, 2024. The northern transport of moisture around the periphery of the ridge building over the Great Basin region, along with increased low level convergence ahead of an incoming upper trough, increased the showers and Thunderstorm chances across the Sierra from Mono County to the Lake Tahoe basin as well as east and north across western Nevada. The surge of monsoonal moisture pushed PWAT values upwards of 0.7-1.0 that we…
Flood · Mar 9, 2023. Strong, even damaging west-southwest winds increased travel hazards especially to high profile trucks but also increased the danger for destructive avalanches across the region. Snow started at all elevations Thursday evening with snow levels rapidly rising Friday morning. Heavy, wet snow (Sierra Nevada Cement) fell across higher elevation areas as snow levels rose to 7000 feet over the region. Heavy rainfall in…
Flood · May 3, 2023. Incoming trough off the Pacific Northwest coast flattened high pressure across the west allowing for increased potential for more widespread showers and thunderstorms through May 21 that continued into the early part of the following week.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2022. The western periphery of high-pressure centered over the Four-Corners region contributed to a surge of mid-level moisture into the Sierra and western NV. This pattern increased thunderstorm chances south of US-50 with the primary hazards being gusty/erratic outflow boundary winds to 50 mph, patchy dense blowing dust, lightning, and brief heavy rainfall that caused some flash flooding in Mono and Mineral Counties.
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 Mono 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.