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FEMA flood zones · Oregon

Jefferson County, Oregon Flood Zone Map

7 flood insurance claims·$12,739 paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters

Less than 1% of Jefferson County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Jefferson 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.

How deep the water got

outlet80″ door12″24″36″48″60″72″84″

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.

In their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →

Federal disasters

20 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
Flat FireAug 22, 2025
Alder Springs FireJun 16, 2025
Elk Lane FireAug 4, 2024
WildfiresSep 8, 2020
Beachie Creek Lionshead Fire ComplexSep 7, 2020
Wildfires And Straight-line WindsSep 7, 2020
Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And MudslidesFeb 23, 2019
Graham FireJun 21, 2018

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

1 since 1996: 1 flash floods.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodMay 20, 2023—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · May 20, 2023. Southwesterly flow aided by an approaching upper level trough facilitated another round of strong diurnal convection during the afternoon hours, starting the central Oregon and along the eastern Mountains before expanding northeastward. Strong to severe T-storms focused in Central Oregon produced up to 1.5 inch hail, strong wind gusts, and heavy downpours that resulted in areas of flash flooding.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Jefferson County

If a building in Jefferson 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.