400 flood insurance claims·$6.0M 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 Marion 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 overflow and localized flooding resulting from Pacific frontal systems, atmospheric rivers, and combined heavy rain and snowmelt dominate Marion County's flood risk, with 23 recorded flood events in the last 30 years. Recent recorded events include a heavy rain and snowmelt-driven flood in April 2019 that produced 2.5 to 5 inches of rain across the south Willamette Valley and 5 to 7 inches in the Cascades, minor river flooding in January 2024 along the Pudding River at Aurora and other waterways, and a February 2025 event involving a strengthening low-pressure system, warmer temperatures, additional rainfall, and prior snowfall.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 228 claims with an average payout of $18,372 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Zone X accounts for 116 claims with an average payout of $24,731 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X Unshaded accounts for 36 claims with an average payout of $17,006 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, while Zone X Shaded accounts for 15 claims with an average payout of $8,384 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches. Additionally, 3 claims were recorded in Zone Unknown with an average payout of $1,941 and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located in high-risk riverine areas corresponding to Zone A, as well as properties situated within various designated Zone X areas where historical claims and recorded water depths indicate ongoing flood vulnerabilities.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Marion County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
281 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 1996, with 165 claims and $2.4M paid, the year of High Winds, Severe Storms and Flooding.
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 Marion County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Liberty Fire | Aug 23, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Wildfires | Sep 8, 2020 |
| Beachie Creek Lionshead Fire Complex | Sep 7, 2020 |
| Wildfires And Straight-line Winds | Sep 7, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 17, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Record And Near Record Snow | Dec 13, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 23 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 20, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 8, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Jan 20, 2012 | $1.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 25, 2025. A strengthening upper-level low and an associated strong low pressure system at the surface tracked just off the Pacific Northwest coast leading to a period of high winds. Warmer temperatures, additional rainfall and prior snowfall to this event facilitated localized flooding as well. The frontal passage during the early afternoon hours of Feb 24th allowed for a period of isolated severe thunderstorms later that a…
Flood · Jan 28, 2024. Minor flooding at Tualatin River at Farmington, Pudding River at Aurora, and Luckiamute River near Suver.
Flood · Dec 20, 2020. A series of strong Pacific fronts moved across the region bringing high winds to the coast with heavy rain across much of the area. The heavy rains resulted in flooding of some coastal rivers as well as small stream flooding and a debris flow.
Flood · Apr 10, 2019. A particularly strong atmospheric river took aim for the south Willamette Valley, sitting over areas south of Salem for two days, producing anywhere from 2.5 to 5 inches of rain over a 48 hour period. Some areas in the Cascades and Cascade Foothills saw 5 to 7 inches of rain over that 48 hour period. Heavy rain combined with snow melt from all the snow from a few weeks prior in this same area caused flooding alo…
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 Marion 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.