4 flood insurance claims·$29,616 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 Hood River 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Hood River County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 10, 2024 |
| Eagle Creek Fire | Sep 2, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 7, 2017 |
| Government Flats Fire Complex | Aug 17, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 17, 2012 |
| Microwave Fire | Aug 28, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Record And Near Record Snow | Dec 13, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Nov 5, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
6 since 1996: 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 7, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Jan 7, 2009 | — |
| Flood | Nov 7, 2006 | $30.0M |
| Flood | Mar 21, 1998 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 1997 | $9.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 7, 2015. A moist pacific front produced heavy rainfall across Northwest Oregon which resulted in river flooding, urban flooding, small stream flooding, land slides, and a few sink holes.
Flood · Jan 16, 2011. A series of weather disturbances over the weekend brought sub-tropical moisture to the Pacific Northwest producing heavy rainfall over the region. The heavy rainfall combined with snowmelt runoff led to flooding on several rivers and streams in Northwest Oregon as well as landslides and debris flows.
Flood · Jan 7, 2009. A powerful storm system brought very heavy rainfall to the region in early January. The heavy rainfall combined with snowmelt runoff caused flooding along multiple rivers in southwest Washington.
Flood · Nov 7, 2006. Several days of nearly non-stop weather systems brought copious amounts of rainfall to northwest Oregon. With moderate temperatures in place, very close to all of this rainfall became run-off, and many rivers over the area swelled in response. Many rivers reached and maintained flood stage for a couple days. |One river in particular, the Wilson River near Tillamook, recorded record flooding. This river's flood…
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 Hood River 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.