5 flood insurance claims·$9,891 paid·5 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 Idaho 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and slow-moving rain systems dominates the flood risk profile in Idaho County, ID, matching a recorded history of 12 flash flood events and 11 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include a slow-moving, tropical-like rain shower that triggered a mud and debris flow near Fiddle Creek on July 4, 2025, and scattered thunderstorms that brought heavy rain to the Elkhorn Fire burn scar on September 16, 2024, leading to additional flash flooding and debris flows.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims are concentrated in specific hazard designations, with Zone A recording 4 claims with an average payout of $4,945 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X records show 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, particularly those near burn scars, steep terrain, and local waterways susceptible to sudden convective rainfall and debris flows.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 1996, with 2 claims and $2,597 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Landslides.
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 Idaho County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Idaho flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 14, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 6, 2017 |
| Tepee Springs Fire | Aug 29, 2015 |
| Clearwater Lawyer Branch Fire Complex | Aug 10, 2015 |
| Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 2, 2010 |
| East Zone Fire Complex | Aug 30, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 11, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 14, 2024 | $8.0M |
| Flood | May 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 11, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2019 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 11, 2025. Pulse convection and thunderstorms produced localized areas of nearly stationary, intense rainfall and hail ranging from pea sized to 1 inch in diameter during the afternoon and evening of September 11th.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2025. A slow-moving, tropical-like rain shower triggered a mud and debris flow near Fiddle Creek in Idaho County.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms brought locally heavy rain to north-central Idaho, impacting the Elkhorn Fire burn scar. These heavy rains lead to flash flooding and debris flows.
Flash Flood · Apr 14, 2024. Abundant moisture and instability, along with weak steering flow resulted in slow moving thunderstorms containing heavy rain during the evening.
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 Idaho 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.