199 flood insurance claims·$3.0M 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 Sutter 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.
Winter storms and atmospheric rivers causing river and roadway flooding dominate the flood risk in Sutter County, where the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 35 flood events and 1 death over the last 30 years. Winter storms brought heavy rain, roadway flooding, and multiple search and rescue efforts in February 2025, while an atmospheric river brought widespread rainfall and roadway flooding in November 2025.
Federal flood insurance data show that damages occur across multiple zones. Properties in Zone X recorded 91 claims with an average water depth of 19 inches and an average payout of $38,545, while Zone A properties logged 75 claims with an average water depth of 18 inches and an average payout of $14,352. Additional claims occurred in Zone UNKNOWN, Zone X_SHADED, and Zone X_UNSHADED.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA Flood Zones X and A, where historical claims indicate the deepest average water depths and highest average payouts from heavy winter rainfall and river overflow events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Sutter County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
91 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 16 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 37 claims and $1.8M 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Sutter County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 31, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 8, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 27, 2022 |
| Potential Failure Of The Emergency Spillway At Oroville Lake | Feb 7, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 3, 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.
35 since 1996: 35 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 24, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 14, 2025 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Feb 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 3, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 14, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 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…
Flood · Feb 7, 2025. A cold winter storm system brought another round of heavy snow, rain, rock slides and gusty winds from February 6th through February 7th. Generally 4 to 12 inches were observed above 3000 feet in Shasta County and the Coast Range and above 5000 feet in the Sierra and Southern Cascades, with up to 18 inches at the higher peaks. Interstate 5 closed for about 4 hours at Pollard Flat due to heavy snow. Traffic cameras…
Flood · Feb 3, 2025. A strong winter storm brought heavy mountain snow, moderate to heavy rain with river and roadway flooding, and gusty southerly winds February 3rd through 5th. Multiple feet of heavy snow were observed above 5000 feet, with 2 to 5 inches of rain observed in the Valley and foothills and southerly wind gusts of up to 50 mph. There were numerous reports of flooding in the Valley that led to multiple search and rescue…
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 Sutter 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.