256 flood insurance claims·$4.8M 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 Shasta 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 floods dominate the hazard profile of Shasta County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 75 general floods compared to 12 flash flood events, though flash floods accounted for 4 deaths over the last 30 years. Recent hazards are exemplified by a warm atmospheric river system in February 2025, which delivered 48-hour rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches in the mountains and 3 to 6 inches in the northern Sacramento Valley and foothills, causing road flooding, mud-covered roads, and wind gusts up to 45 mph.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 156 claims averaging a payout of $25,856 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in Zone X experienced higher severity per claim despite fewer numbers, with 52 claims averaging a payout of $31,731 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Additional claims occurred in Zone X_UNSHADED (19 claims, averaging $10,564 and 5 inches of water depth), Zone UNKNOWN (16 claims, averaging $10,675 and 2 inches of water depth), and Zone X_SHADED (13 claims, averaging $11,978 and 4 inches of water depth).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone X, as these zones account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and higher average water depths during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Shasta County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
188 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 6 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 40 claims and $445,727 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.
48 NOAA storm reports from Shasta County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
41 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 21, 2023 |
| Fawn Fire | Sep 23, 2021 |
| Zogg Fire | Sep 28, 2020 |
| Wildfires | Sep 4, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 13, 2019 |
| Carr Fire | Jul 23, 2018 |
| Wildfire | Jul 23, 2018 |
| Wildfires And High Winds | Jul 23, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
87 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 75 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 22, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | $7.0M · 1 killed |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 2, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 24, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 26, 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 22, 2025. A series of atmospheric rivers brought moderate to heavy precipitation to interior northern California in the third week of December through the Christmas holiday. A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21. Heavy rain fell until around 7 PM, where there was a lull before another line redeveloped and brought additional moderate to heavy rain into the late evening. Over…
Flood · Dec 21, 2025. A series of atmospheric rivers brought moderate to heavy precipitation to interior northern California in the third week of December through the Christmas holiday. A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21. Heavy rain fell until around 7 PM, where there was a lull before another line redeveloped and brought additional moderate to heavy rain into the late evening. Over…
Flash Flood · Dec 21, 2025. A series of atmospheric rivers brought moderate to heavy precipitation to interior northern California in the third week of December through the Christmas holiday. A Convergence Zone set up over Redding/Shasta County around 1 PM on Sunday, December 21. Heavy rain fell until around 7 PM, where there was a lull before another line redeveloped and brought additional moderate to heavy rain into the late evening. Over…
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 Shasta 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.