432 flood insurance claims·$18.7M 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 Columbia County, Oregon. 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.
1% of Columbia County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
308 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 14 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 2007, with 240 claims and $15.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Columbia County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Wildfires And Straight-line Winds | Sep 7, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 7, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 6, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 17, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Record And Near Record Snow | Dec 13, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 1, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Dec 14, 2006 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 18, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
12 since 1996: 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 6, 2022 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Jan 13, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 12, 2019 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Feb 9, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Nov 24, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Dec 9, 2015 | $2.3M · 1 killed |
| Flood | Dec 8, 2015 | $824,000 |
| Flood | Dec 7, 2015 | $124,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 6, 2022. The second in a series of strong Pacific fronts brought another round of heavy rain and resulting flooding of mainstem rivers draining the coastal mountains and interior of northwest Oregon. Coastal flooding also occurred at some coastal communities as a result of high astronomical tides combined with high river levels and high seas.
Flood · Jan 13, 2021. A series of slow moving fronts brought periods of heavy rain along with strong winds. This resulted in high surf; coastal, river and urban flooding; landslides; and debris flows. As the front moved inland early on the 13th, a debris flow resulted in a fatality in the Columbia River Gorge. The front brought a burst of 35-50 mph winds to the Willamette Valley and southwest Washington interior resulting in over 100…
Flood · Feb 12, 2019. Back-to-back low pressure systems dropping south along the coast of British Columbia and Washington brought cold air south into NW Oregon as well as plenty of moisture. Locations in the Columbia Gorge and Hood River Valley saw 1 to 2 feet of snow. At lower elevations, a near stationary frontal boundary the night of the 11th into the morning of the 12th dropped several inches of rain over portions of Washington,…
Flood · Feb 9, 2017. A series of fronts brought moderate to heavy rainfall across Northwest Oregon, resulting flooding on many rivers across the area over the next several days.
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 Columbia 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.