42 flood insurance claims·$132,077 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 Cache County, Utah. 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 general flooding driven by snowmelt and heavy rain dominate Cache County, supported by 13 general flood events compared to 3 flash flood events recorded by the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years. Seasonal warming and precipitation regularly trigger these conditions, such as in February 2017 when heavy rainfall and significant snowmelt combined to produce flooding in multiple locations across far northern Utah. Similarly, unseasonably warm temperatures in June 2011 led to significant river flooding, including along Spring Creek in Providence, Utah.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 13 claims with an average payout of $5,147 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X records 12 claims with an average payout of $5,475 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X unshaded records 6 claims with an average payout of $4,487 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X shaded accounts for 2 claims with an average payout of $6,231 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, and unknown zones represent 9 claims with an average payout of $458 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Property owners located in Zone A and Zone X—particularly those near rivers and waterways subject to seasonal snowmelt and runoff—should pay the most attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
38% of Cache County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 4 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 2011, with 9 claims and $46,819 paid, the year of 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Cache County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Utah flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms And Flooding | Feb 7, 2017 |
| Flooding | Apr 18, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Heavy Rains, Snowmelt & Flooding | Feb 12, 1986 |
| Drought | Jan 20, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
16 since 1996: 3 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 23, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Feb 7, 2017 | $4.0M |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2017 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jan 19, 2012 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jun 25, 2011 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jun 23, 2011 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 18, 2011 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Jun 15, 2011 | $200,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 23, 2017. Heavy rain fell across Utah on March 23, leading to flooding in some locations across northern Utah.
Flood · Feb 7, 2017. Heavy rainfall and significant snowmelt through the month of February combined to produce flooding in multiple locations across far northern Utah.
Flood · Jun 2, 2017. Warm temperatures to begin the month of June led to rapid snowmelt near the Utah/Idaho border and flooding along the Logan River.
Flood · Jan 19, 2012. Deep Pacific moisture, combined with embedded weather disturbances moving through the region in the middle of January, resulted in heavy and wet snowfall in the mountains and mountain valleys of northern Utah. Occasional heavy rain was observed in the northern Utah valleys. This rain, when combined with frozen ground and snowmelt, produced flooding in portions of Cache Valley and Ogden Valley.
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 Cache 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.