320 flood insurance claims·$8.3M 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 Yuba 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.
Prolonged river and roadway flooding from winter storms dominates the flood profile of Yuba County, supported by NOAA records showing 27 general floods compared to 2 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are documented in storm narratives, such as a major winter storm in February 2024 that brought heavy rain, urban nuisance flooding, and river rises, as well as a strong winter storm in February 2025 that caused valley flooding, search and rescue efforts, and Highway 99 closures.
Federal insurance claims data shows historical payouts across multiple hazard zones. Zone A recorded 116 claims with an average water depth of 14 inches and an average payout of $23,902. Shaded Zone X recorded 91 claims with an average depth of 21 inches and an average payout of $54,021, while standard Zone X recorded 70 claims averaging 4 inches of water and $42,404 in payouts. Unshaded Zone X logged 36 claims averaging 2 inches of water depth and $16,828 in payouts. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and shaded Zone X, which experienced the highest claim frequencies and average water depths during past events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
52% of Yuba County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
243 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 14 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 129 claims and $6.0M 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Yuba County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the California flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 9, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 8, 2023 |
| Wildfires | Sep 4, 2020 |
| Bear Fire | Aug 17, 2020 |
| Wildfires | Aug 14, 2020 |
| Cascade Fire | Oct 8, 2017 |
| Wildfires | Oct 8, 2017 |
| Potential Failure Of The Emergency Spillway At Oroville Lake | Feb 7, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 2 flash floods and 27 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Oct 24, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2018 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2018 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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…
Flood · Feb 4, 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…
Flood · Jan 22, 2024. Two storms brought heavy mountain snow with mountain travel delays and chain restrictions, widespread rain with flooding impacts, and thunderstorms to the area around the third week of January.
Flood · Feb 4, 2024. A major winter storm moved in from the south on February 4th, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy mountain snow through February 7th. Damaging winds brought down trees and caused widespread power outages. Flooding and strong winds resulted in multiple fatalities. Chain controls were observed in the mountains. Heavy rain brought nuisance flooding on roads and urban areas and rises to rivers,…
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 Yuba 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.