91 flood insurance claims·$559,389 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 Carson City, Nevada. 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.
35% of Carson City’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
60 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 5 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 1997, with 26 claims and $175,953 paid.
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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Carson City describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nevada flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1986, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Feb 5, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jan 5, 2017 |
| Linehan Fire Complex | Jun 26, 2006 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 31, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Jan 6, 2005 |
| Record And/or Near Record Snow | Dec 29, 2004 |
| Waterfall Fire | Jul 14, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
7 since 1996: 2 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2014 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2014 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2006 | $1.2M |
| Flood | Dec 31, 2005 | $3.4M |
| Flood | Jan 25, 1997 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 1997 | — · 2 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2014. Moderately high atmospheric moisture with slow-moving thunderstorms brought heavy rain and isolated severe thunderstorms from the 19th through the 21st. Extensive damage from flash floods and debris flows was reported in Douglas County and Carson City on the 20th. In addition, a large dust storm occurred on the 20th.
Flood · Jan 1, 2006. Flooding continued across western Nevada into early January. However, rivers and streams reached flood stage and then started to recede on January 1st. The entire Truckee River was below flood stage by the evening of the 1st. The entire Carson River was below flood stage by early on the 3rd.
Flood · Jan 25, 1997. The East Carson River and the mainstem Truckee in western Nevada rose above flood stage for a short period of time. Urban and small stream flooding occurred in parts of western Nevada as well. For a better description, please see storm entry for floods in Nevada zones from 1/01/97 to 1/17/97.
Flood · Jan 1, 1997. The floods of January l997 were caused by several factors. First, the Sierra and western Nevada had experienced two above normal precipitation years (1995, 1996). Second, a major winter storm December 21st and 22nd 1996 deposited heavy snow in the Sierra and western Nevada. Four to six feet of snow was common below 7000 feet in the Sierra with up to eight feet at the higher elevations. One to three feet of sno…
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 Carson City 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.