48 flood insurance claims·$184,366 paid·2 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 Malheur 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.
Flash flooding from heavy rain and severe weather dominates Malheur County, accounting for 18 of the 26 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 8 general floods. Recent events illustrate these hazards, such as a June 2023 stationary low-pressure system that brought heavy rain and thunderstorms, causing localized urban flooding and a debris flow over Highway 20 near Juntura. Additionally, warming temperatures and rain-on-snow events in February 2025 triggered quick rises on the Malheur River, leading to levee breaks near Vale, agricultural flooding, and nuisance flooding over Highway 20. Other historical events involved heavy rain and snowmelt along the Burnt River in May 2011, and flooding along the Snake River around Ontario in March 2017.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the closest attention to properties located within Special Flood Hazard Area Zone A, which received 13 NFIP claims averaging $20,368 per payout and recorded an average water depth of 19 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X, which logged 21 claims with an average payout of $1,812 and an average water depth of 2 inches, also face lower-depth flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
62% of Malheur County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
34 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 9 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 1979, with 11 claims and $9,424 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Malheur County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Durkee Fire | Jul 21, 2024 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 26, 2003 |
| Drought | Apr 29, 1977 |
| Heavy Rains & Flooding | Dec 24, 1964 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 19, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Mar 10, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Jan 17, 2011 | — |
| Flood | May 15, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 20, 2025. Warming temperatures and rain on snow events led to quick rises in the Malheur River. This led to several levee breaks near Vale, OR and caused agricultural flooding and nuisance flooding over Highway 20.
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2023. A nearly stationary upper level low over the Four Corners region brought periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms over multiple days which caused localized urban flooding in Malheur County, OR. This caused a debris flow over Highway 20 near Juntura, OR which closed the highway for several days.
Flood · Mar 19, 2017. Flooding occurred along the Snake River around the Ontario, Oregon area and surrounding fields and roads.
Flood · Mar 10, 2017. Rainfall and snow melt combined to increase the flow on the Malheur River to minor flood stage.
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 Malheur 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.