10 flood insurance claims·$36,034 paid·3 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 Storey County, 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and heavy monsoon moisture dominates the flood risks in Storey County, Nevada. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 11 flash flood events and 7 general flood events, which included 2 deaths. Recent activity includes widespread heavy precipitation driven by monsoon moisture, such as flash floods occurring in August 2025. Other flood events are linked to winter weather transitions, such as a March 2023 storm that combined heavy, wet snow at higher elevations with heavy rainfall that increased flooding risks for lower-elevation creeks and streams.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows payouts across different zones. Properties in Zone X (unshaded) account for 6 claims with an average payout of $4,614 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Properties in Zone A account for 4 claims with an average payout of $7,397 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties near lower-elevation creeks and streams, as well as homes located within designated Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas where past claims and localized water depths have been documented.
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 2 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 1995, with 5 claims and $9,855 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Storey County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nevada flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Mar 8, 2023 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 26, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jan 8, 2017 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Jan 8, 2017 | $350,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2010 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 27, 2025. A high amount of atmospheric moisture in the region interacted with a short-wave trough, allowing for widespread heavy precipitation. This was day five of an extended push of monsoon moisture that produced heavy rain, localized flooding, strong outflow winds.
Flash Flood · Aug 26, 2025. A high amount of atmospheric moisture in the region interacted with a short-wave trough, allowing for widespread heavy precipitation. This was day four of an extended push of monsoon moisture that produced heavy rain, localized flooding, strong outflow winds.
Flood · Mar 9, 2023. Strong, even damaging west-southwest winds increased travel hazards especially to high profile trucks but also increased the danger for destructive avalanches across the region. Snow started at all elevations Thursday evening with snow levels rapidly rising Friday morning. Heavy, wet snow (Sierra Nevada Cement) fell across higher elevation areas as snow levels rose to 7000 feet over the region. Heavy rainfall in…
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2019. Moisture from the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California moved northward around the periphery of high pressure centered over the Four-Corners region of the Rockies the 24th into the 25th. This moisture, coupled with the weak flow and increased instability in the lower to middle portions of the atmosphere, resulted in storms producing heavy rains.
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 Storey 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.