216 flood insurance claims·$4.1M paid·11 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 Pacific 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.
31% of Pacific County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
136 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 6 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 1981, with 18 claims and $100,577 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Pacific County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Washington flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 5, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-line Winds, Floodin | Dec 26, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 29, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, Tornado | Dec 10, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, And A T | Dec 1, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, And Flooding | Jan 6, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow | Dec 12, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
14 since 1996: 12 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Nov 6, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 14, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 6, 2022 | $990,000 |
| Flood | Jan 6, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 3, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Nov 17, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jan 5, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Nov 6, 2025. A strong low pressure system supported by a negatively tilted upper-level trough drove a cold-frontal boundary through the region supporting a period of high winds. This system coinciding with the arrival of Perigean Spring Tides (also known as King Tides) also led to localized coastal flooding.
Coastal Flood · Dec 14, 2024. The combination of high astronomical tides, large surf, and rainfall resulted in flooding of highways and roads in low-lying areas near Willapa Bay.
Flood · Dec 5, 2023. A strong atmospheric river brought heavy rains on December 5th which led to minor river and urban flooding across portions of southwest Washington. Clark County and Cowlitz County saw landslides, along with minor river flooding, including the Cowlitz River at Kelso and the Grays River near Rosburg. Portions of the Willapa Hills and south Washington Cascades received 12 to 16 inches of rain over a 5 day period begi…
Flood · Jan 6, 2022. The second in a series of strong Pacific fronts brought another round of heavy rain and resulting flooding of mainstem rivers draining the coastal mountains and interior of southwest Washington. Coastal flooding also occurred at some coastal communities as a result of high astronomical tides combined with high river levels and high seas.
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 Pacific 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.