3,864 flood insurance claims·$38.7M paid·11 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 Sacramento 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 dominates Sacramento County, accounting for 158 events and 2 deaths over the last 30 years, compared to 9 flash flood events and 4 deaths. Winter storms drive this risk, as seen in February 2025, when heavy rain, mountain snow, and wind gusts up to 50 mph caused river and roadway flooding, search and rescue efforts, prolonged road closures, and the closure of portions of Highway 99. Another strong winter storm from late February 12th into February 14th, 2025, brought 1 to 6 inches of rain, flooded roads, and covered mountain and foothill areas with mud and rocks.
NFIP claim records show that properties in Zone A have experienced the highest impact with 2,890 claims, an average payout of $15,976, and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X properties recorded 608 claims with an average payout of $17,553 and an average water depth of 11 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 206 claims with an average payout of $16,731 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 116 claims with an average payout of $18,989 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 44 claims averaging $13,001 with an average water depth of 5 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to these flood risks given the high volume and payout history of claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Sacramento County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
3,212 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 7 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 1,340 claims and $11.5M 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.
95 NOAA storm reports from Sacramento County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 11 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, And Mudslides | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 18, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides | Dec 17, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
167 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 158 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 24, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Nov 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 12, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 25, 2025. A prolonged period of wet weather brought heavy snowfall and strong winds to the Sierra Nevada. Heaviest snowfall was observed from 12/24-12/26 when snow levels came down below the mountain passes. Snowfall measurements over the 12/24-12/26 timeframe were around 2-5 ft per Caltrans, Ski resorts, and UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. Southerly wind gusts of 50-80 mph were observed as well across the Valley, foot…
Flood · Dec 24, 2025. A prolonged period of wet weather brought heavy snowfall and strong winds to the Sierra Nevada. Heaviest snowfall was observed from 12/24-12/26 when snow levels came down below the mountain passes. Snowfall measurements over the 12/24-12/26 timeframe were around 2-5 ft per Caltrans, Ski resorts, and UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. Southerly wind gusts of 50-80 mph were observed as well across the Valley, foot…
Flood · Nov 17, 2025. A secondary wave of precipitation brought additional rain, wind and light mountain snow from November 16th through November 17th. This led to additional flooding impacts in the Valley and foothills. 1 to 3 inches of rain were observed over this two day timeframe across most of the area, except in Shasta County where 2 to 5 inches were observed. There were also snow measurements of around 3 to 8 inches in the mount…
Flood · Nov 14, 2025. An Atmospheric River in the middle of November brought light mountain snow, widespread rainfall with roadway flooding, gusty winds, and thunderstorms from November 12th through November 14th. Around 1 to 4 inches of rain were observed across interior northern California over this 48 hour period. Gusty southerly winds of 25 to 65 mph were also observed as well. 4 to 12 inches of snow was estimated to have fallen at…
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 Sacramento 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.