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FEMA flood zones · Idaho

Valley County, Idaho Flood Zone Map

1 flood insurance claims·$0 paid·2 federal flood & hurricane disasters

2% of Valley County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Valley 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 their words

2 NOAA storm reports from Valley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Idaho flood stories →

Federal disasters

12 federal disaster declarations since 1996, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Four Corners FireAug 18, 2022
Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And MudslidesApr 7, 2019
Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And MudslidesMar 6, 2017
Hurd FireAug 26, 2010
Severe Storms And FloodingJun 2, 2010
Cascade Fire ComplexAug 30, 2007
East Zone Fire ComplexAug 30, 2007
Hurricane KatrinaAug 29, 2005

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

14 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
FloodApr 7, 2019$420,000
FloodMar 6, 2014—
FloodMar 16, 2012—
Flash FloodJun 4, 2010$10,000
FloodJun 4, 2010—
Flash FloodJul 22, 2008—
Flash FloodSep 23, 2007—
Flash FloodAug 22, 2003—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flood · Apr 7, 2019. An Atmospheric River brought a persistent stream of moisture off the Pacific Ocean to West Central Idaho April 6-10. Rainfall totals of 2 to 5 inches were measured at many weather stations while snow melt added 1 to 3 inches of melt-water to the runoff. Main stem river flooding, flash flooding, and small stream flooding occurred during the event with record or near record crests observed on a number of waterways.…

Flood · Mar 6, 2014. An upper level trough pushed through Southwest Idaho on the 6th leading to strong thunderstorms including flash flooding and debris flows near McCall and a funnel cloud near Twin Falls.

Flood · Mar 16, 2012. Heavy Rain caused flooding in and around the New Meadows, Yellowpine and Cascade areas.

Flash Flood · Jun 4, 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.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Valley County

If a building in Valley 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.