21 flood insurance claims·$165,391 paid·4 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 Union 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 2 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 2020, with 3 claims and $45,430 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Union County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 5, 2020 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 26, 2003 |
| High Winds, Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 4, 1996 |
| Drought | Apr 29, 1977 |
| Heavy Rains & Flooding | Dec 24, 1964 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
12 since 1996: 3 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 20, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $750,000 |
| Flood | Apr 8, 2019 | $250,000 |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2014 | — |
| Flood | May 15, 2011 | $2.0M |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2010 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2008 | $30,000 |
| Flood | May 6, 2005 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 20, 2020. Heavy rain with QPF amounts of 2-4 inches across the Blue Mountains, Blue Mountain Foothills, and John Day Highlands produced areal and river flooding on May 20th and ending on May 21st. Most of the flooding was minor.
Flood · Feb 6, 2020. Summary : Heavy snow on February 4-5, 2020 was followed by a period of heavy rain, February 5-7. Snow levels rose to near 5000 feet. The heavy rain and snow melt lead to moderate flooding and several landslides along the East Slopes of the Washington Cascades. There was record flooding on several rivers, including the Umatilla, Walla Walla and Touchet rivers with widespread flooding of numerous other creeks and…
Flood · Apr 8, 2019. Snow water equivalents near 200% of normal in the Blue Mountains coupled with warm temperatures and near record rainfall totals for April produced significant river flooding across eastern Oregon.
Flood · Mar 9, 2014. Heavy rain fell across much of the northern Blue Mountains and Wallowa County throughout the first week of March. March 9th received very heavy rain with snow levels around 6000ft. This allowed for a significant increase in runoff, which lead to a quick rise in rivers for the period. Flooding was reported at the confluence of Five Points Creek and the Grande Ronde River near Hilgard. Field flooding occurred 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 Union 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.