26 flood insurance claims·$246,820 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 Payette 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.
50% of Payette County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
22 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 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 10 claims and $145,313 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 Payette County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Idaho flood stories →
6 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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.
7 since 1996: 1 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 17, 2017 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Jun 5, 2010 | $1.0M |
| Flood | May 26, 1998 | — |
| Flood | Mar 23, 1998 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 1997 | — |
— = 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 · Apr 27, 2012. Heavy rainfall caused the Payette River to spill over it's banks in parts of Southwest Idaho on the 26th through the 28th.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2010. A weak shortwave trough combined with afternoon surface heating to produce strong to severe convection across parts of Payette County in Southwest Idaho on the 6th.
Flood · Jun 5, 2010. A deep low pressure system anchored in the Gulf of Alaska and a zonal flow pattern across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West provided the right ingredients for a sustained moisture plume which produced convection and periods of moderate to heavy rain over a three day period causing flooding and flash flooding, and severe thunderstorms across Southeast Oregon and Southwest Idaho.
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 Payette 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.