4 flood insurance claims·$19,220 paid·1 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 Gem County, Idaho. 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 4 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 2010, with 1 claims and $10,497 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Gem County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Idaho flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Four Corners Fire | Aug 18, 2022 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 2, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Landslides | Nov 16, 1996 |
| Heavy Rains & Flooding | Dec 31, 1964 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
12 since 1996: 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 17, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Feb 8, 2017 | $1,000 |
| Flood | May 7, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Apr 26, 2012 | — |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2010 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2002 | — |
| Flood | May 26, 1998 | — |
| Flood | Mar 23, 1998 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 17, 2017. Rainfall and snow melt combined to increase the flow on the Payette River to minor flood stage.
Flood · Feb 8, 2017. Strong Southwesterly flow behind a warm front spread heavy rain across most of the intermountain west. Flooding occurred in most of South Central Idaho.
Flood · May 7, 2017. Spring snow melt flooding occurred across much of Southwest Idaho as a result of an above normal snow pack for the winter of 2016 to 2017.
Flood · Apr 26, 2012. Heavy rainfall caused the Payette River to spill over it's banks in parts of Southwest Idaho on the 26th through the 28th.
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 Gem 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.