Enter any address in Yuba County, California to see its FEMA flood zone
River overflow and widespread flooding from winter storms are the dominant flood characteristics in Yuba County. Recent events include flooding in February 2025 due to heavy rain and river rises, and a flash flood event in December 2025 following atmospheric rivers that brought significant rainfall.
Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X_Shaded should pay particular attention to flood risk. Zone A properties have experienced numerous claims with significant water depths, while Zone X_Shaded properties, though not in a high-risk zone, have seen the highest average claim payouts and water depths among all mapped zones. Properties in Zone X and Zone X_Unshaded have also experienced claims, indicating that flood risk exists across various mapped zones.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
8 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Yuba County, California has recorded 29 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 2 flash floods and 27 river or area floods. The county has received 28 federal disaster declarations, 8 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1964–2023)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Flood | Mar 9, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Flood | Jan 8, 2023 |
| Wildfires | Fire | Sep 4, 2020 |
| Bear Fire | Fire | Aug 17, 2020 |
| Wildfires | Fire | Aug 14, 2020 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Cascade Fire | Fire | Oct 8, 2017 |
| Wildfires | Fire | Oct 8, 2017 |
| Potential Failure Of The Emergency Spillway At Oroville Lake | Dam/Levee Break | Feb 7, 2017 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Dec 21, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jan 22, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jan 5, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Oct 24, 2021 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2018 | 1.00M |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2018 | 20.00K |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2006 | 4.9M |
| Flood | Jan 10, 2001 | — |
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...
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 multipl...
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 a...
Flood — Jan 5, 2023
A powerful atmospheric river brought very strong winds with moderate to heavy rain and renewed flooding of the already elevated waterways. There was flooding of roadways, urban areas, rivers, streams, and creeks. There were dangerous mountain travel conditions at Sierra pass levels with 6 to 18 inches of snow above 6500 feet. The warm nature of the storm limited snow amounts further down, with ...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Yuba County, California:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Yuba County, California that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.