20 flood insurance claims·$286,001 paid·7 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 Klickitat County, Washington. 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 15 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 13 claims and $253,148 paid, the year of High Winds, Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Winter Storms, Land & Muds Slides,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.
28 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Burdoin Fire | Jul 18, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 5, 2024 |
| Newell Road Fire | Jul 21, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-line Winds, Floodin | Dec 26, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 29, 2020 |
| Horsethief Butte Fire | Sep 13, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Aug 13, 2015 |
| Highway 8 Fire | Aug 4, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
7 since 1996: 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 15, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Mar 30, 2012 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Feb 2, 2003 | — |
| Flood | Jan 31, 1997 | — |
| Flood | Jun 12, 1997 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 1997 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 15, 2017. Heavy rain and snow melt resulted in flooding along portions of the Klickitat river.
Flood · Mar 30, 2012. Heavy rainfall on snowpack caused flooding creeks and rivers in portions of Klickitat and Yakima Counties.
Flood · Jan 16, 2011. A large Pacific weather system became established in mid January that produced copious amounts of rainfall with unseasonably warm conditions in parts of Washington. The heavy rainfall combined with snowmelt caused rapid runoff with 4 rivers and 7 different warning points reaching flood stage. Flood warnings were first issued on the morning of January 15 and the last flood warning ended on January 21st.
Flood · Jan 31, 1997. Water and mud covered many streets in Connell. Several downtown businesses had flooded basements. Significant road damage to some area roads.
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 Klickitat 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.