3 flood insurance claims·$8,765 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 Wheeler 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 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.
The worst year was 1979, with 1 claims and $7,851 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Wheeler County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Rail Ridge Fire | Sep 2, 2024 |
| Lone Rock Fire | Jul 17, 2024 |
| Wildfires | Jul 10, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 6, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Dec 14, 2006 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 18, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 26, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
13 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 21, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 19, 2019 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Apr 9, 2019 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Mar 16, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Jan 17, 2011 | — |
| Flood | May 15, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Jun 3, 2010 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 21, 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.
Flash Flood · Apr 19, 2019. On April 20th, thunderstorms produced locally heavy rainfall with 1 to 2 inches falling in Wheeler County.
Flood · Apr 9, 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 16, 2017. An extended period of snow melt, combined with a period of heavy rain, caused an extended period of flooding along portions of the John Day River.
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 Wheeler 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.