408 flood insurance claims·$5.4M 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 Washington 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 minor urban flooding driven by atmospheric rivers and heavy rain dominate the flood history of Washington County, Oregon. NOAA records show 26 flood events and two deaths over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include minor flooding from heavy showers on May 8, 2023, that affected 14 homes in a southwest Portland neighborhood, as well as minor river and urban flooding caused by a pair of moderate atmospheric rivers on December 4, 2023. Additional events include minor flooding along the Tualatin River at Farmington on January 28, 2024, and widespread river, urban, and coastal flooding alongside landslides and debris flows from slow-moving fronts on January 12, 2021.
Federal Insurance Administration claims data indicates that property owners should pay close attention based on their designated flood zone. Zone A experienced the highest claims activity with 261 filings, averaging a $19,594 payout and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Properties in Zone X accounted for 66 claims with an average payout of $11,853 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 51 claims with an average payout of $18,047 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 24 claims with an average payout of $7,113 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches, and Zone X_SHADED saw 5 claims averaging an $8,308 payout with an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Residents located within Zone A and mapped river or urban zones should be the most attentive to flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
18% of Washington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
318 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 179 claims and $3.0M paid, the year of High Winds, Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms and High Winds.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Washington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Lee Falls Fire | Aug 8, 2024 |
| Chehalem Mountain Bald Peak Fire | Sep 8, 2020 |
| Powerline Fire | Sep 8, 2020 |
| Wildfires | Sep 8, 2020 |
| Wildfires And Straight-line Winds | Sep 7, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 6, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Record And Near Record Snow | Dec 13, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 1, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 8, 2023 | $14,000 |
| Flood | Dec 4, 2023 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Jan 14, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jan 13, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jan 12, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 12, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 28, 2024. Minor flooding at Tualatin River at Farmington, Pudding River at Aurora, and Luckiamute River near Suver.
Flood · May 8, 2023. Heavy showers developed over the Portland metro area in the afternoon as a cool upper trough remained over the region. Minor flooding occurred in the area. The greatest impacts were to a southwest Portland neighborhood where 14 homes were affected.
Flood · Dec 4, 2023. A pair of moderate atmospheric rivers brought heavy rain leading to minor river and urban flooding to portions of northwest Oregon.
Flood · Jan 14, 2021. A series of slow moving fronts brought periods of heavy rain along with strong winds. This resulted in high surf; coastal, river and urban flooding; landslides; and debris flows. As the front moved inland early on the 13th, a debris flow resulted in a fatality in the Columbia River Gorge. The front brought a burst of 35-50 mph winds to the Willamette Valley and southwest Washington interior resulting in over 100…
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 Washington 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.