304 flood insurance claims·$2.5M 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 Jackson 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.
River flooding and flash flooding from storms characterize the flood risks in Jackson County, Oregon, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database records 17 floods and 5 flash floods over the last 30 years. Historical events illustrate these hazards, such as a stalled frontal system in March 2025 that brought heavy rain and caused numerous rivers in southwest Oregon to flood. Additionally, monsoonal moisture fueled a severe thunderstorm in August 2007 that dropped around 3 inches of rain in 4 hours, prompting a Flash Flood Warning for the Ashland area.
Federal Emergency Management Agency records show that flood claims span multiple zones, with the highest concentration occurring in high-risk riverine areas. Zone A accounts for 203 claims with an average payout of $12,989 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in shaded Zone X recorded 43 claims with an average payout of $11,355 and an average water depth of 23 inches, while standard Zone X saw 25 claims with an average payout of $7,901 and an average water depth of 16 inches. Unshaded Zone X recorded 18 claims with an average payout of $11,705 and an average water depth of 3 inches, and unknown zones logged 15 claims averaging $2,108 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Property owners in Zone A and shaded Zone X should pay the closest attention, as these areas experience the highest frequency of claims and significant average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
23% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
264 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 10 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 126 claims and $1.1M 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.
20 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Upper Applegate Road Fire | Jun 18, 2025 |
| Almeda Glendower Fire | Sep 8, 2020 |
| South Obenchain Fire | Sep 8, 2020 |
| Wildfires | Sep 8, 2020 |
| Wildfires And Straight-line Winds | Sep 7, 2020 |
| Ramsey Canyon Fire | Aug 23, 2018 |
| Garner Fire Complex | Jul 18, 2018 |
| Oregon Gulch Fire | Jul 31, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 17, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Dec 14, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Dec 13, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Feb 14, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Dec 2, 2012 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 16, 2025. The strongest of a series of frontal systems stalled over southern Oregon on 03/16. It produced heavy rain that caused numerous rivers in southwest Oregon to flood.
Flood · Jan 17, 2016. Heavy rain brought flooding to some areas of southwest Oregon.
Flood · Dec 14, 2016. Heavy rain brought some areal flooding to parts of southwest Oregon.
Flood · Dec 13, 2015. Persistent heavy rains led to areal flooding over parts of southwest Oregon.
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 Jackson 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.