Flood Help Guide

California flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

53,563NFIP flood claims since 1978
$761.2 millionPaid on those claims
$51,340Average paid claimlast 10 years
1.3%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
33Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 53,563 flood insurance claims in California since 1978. The NFIP paid $761.2 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 1995, with 8,261, mostly from Flooding.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 7,096 claims, and the average paid claim was $51,340.

36% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 1.3% of homes in California had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (140,683 of 10,537,796 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 31% (91,392 of 299,628).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 33 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of California. The most recent was DR-4772-CA (Severe Storms and Flooding), declared April 19, 2024.

Flood insurance claims in California by year

NFIP flood claims per year in California, 1978 to 202602.5k5k7.5k10k1978: 1,198 claims, $3.7 million paid1979: 629 claims, $2.1 million paid1980: 2,846 claims, $12.4 million paid19801981: 606 claims, $1.8 million paid1982: 2,125 claims, $12.9 million paid1983: 4,652 claims, $30.8 million paid1984: 197 claims, $665,631 paid1985: 118 claims, $231,035 paid1986: 2,627 claims, $35.6 million paid1987: 116 claims, $179,011 paid1988: 499 claims, $4.1 million paid1989: 73 claims, $229,804 paid1990: 53 claims, $95,597 paid19901991: 267 claims, $1.2 million paid1992: 823 claims, $4.1 million paid1993: 1,291 claims, $6.7 million paid1994: 215 claims, $1.3 million paid1995: 8,261 claims, $116.1 million paid1996: 940 claims, $8.3 million paid1997: 3,115 claims, $44.1 million paid1998: 6,768 claims, $60.7 million paid1999: 217 claims, $1.1 million paid2000: 448 claims, $1.6 million paid20002001: 511 claims, $2.9 million paid2002: 460 claims, $7.8 million paid2003: 236 claims, $1.9 million paid2004: 506 claims, $6.3 million paid2005: 2,978 claims, $91.7 million paid2006: 642 claims, $14.8 million paid2007: 54 claims, $284,091 paid2008: 274 claims, $3.7 million paid2009: 153 claims, $1.4 million paid2010: 826 claims, $11.9 million paid20102011: 275 claims, $3.0 million paid2012: 278 claims, $3.0 million paid2013: 76 claims, $1.3 million paid2014: 563 claims, $15.0 million paid2015: 125 claims, $1.5 million paid2016: 426 claims, $5.6 million paid2017: 1,776 claims, $36.0 million paid2018: 395 claims, $22.2 million paid2019: 1,236 claims, $38.8 million paid2020: 120 claims, $1.2 million paid20202021: 297 claims, $6.7 million paid2022: 483 claims, $20.3 million paid2023: 1,815 claims, $64.9 million paid2024: 583 claims, $32.1 million paid2025: 255 claims, $9.2 million paid2026: 136 claims, $7.4 million paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
2026136$7.4 million
2025255$9.2 million
2024583$32.1 million
20231,815$64.9 million
2022483$20.3 million
2021297$6.7 million
2020120$1.2 million
20191,236$38.8 million
2018395$22.2 million
20171,776$36.0 million
2016426$5.6 million
2015125$1.5 million
2014563$15.0 million
201376$1.3 million
2012278$3.0 million
2011275$3.0 million
2010826$11.9 million
2009153$1.4 million
2008274$3.7 million
200754$284,091
2006642$14.8 million
20052,978$91.7 million
2004506$6.3 million
2003236$1.9 million
2002460$7.8 million
2001511$2.9 million
2000448$1.6 million
1999217$1.1 million
19986,768$60.7 million
19973,115$44.1 million
1996940$8.3 million
19958,261$116.1 million
1994215$1.3 million
19931,291$6.7 million
1992823$4.1 million
1991267$1.2 million
199053$95,597
198973$229,804
1988499$4.1 million
1987116$179,011
19862,627$35.6 million
1985118$231,035
1984197$665,631
19834,652$30.8 million
19822,125$12.9 million
1981606$1.8 million
19802,846$12.4 million
1979629$2.1 million
19781,198$3.7 million

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for California, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Flooding19957,083$109.7 million
California Atmospheric River20231,583$59.1 million
Pineapple Express - Southern19986,093$57.7 million
Flooding19862,394$34.2 million
Flooding19971,793$33.3 million
Flooding19833,140$24.2 million
San Diego Flooding2024200$19.3 million
California Atmospheric River2022381$18.8 million
Mid-Winter California Flooding2018207$17.1 million
Flooding19821,365$10.2 million

Flood history by county

Every California county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredFlood declarations
Los Angeles County9,104$72.4 million0.5%12
Sonoma County7,403$132.1 million1.1%9
Sacramento County3,864$38.7 million9.6%8
Orange County3,839$21.2 million1.0%7
Marin County3,301$54.9 million5.4%9
San Diego County2,442$48.0 million0.7%10
Riverside County1,636$21.2 million0.5%10
Santa Cruz County1,633$24.9 million2.5%10
Santa Clara County1,630$24.6 million1.7%6
Monterey County1,492$42.4 million1.1%8
Lake County1,432$14.2 million2.4%8
Napa County1,361$29.8 million1.9%11
Ventura County1,331$16.0 million1.6%9
Santa Barbara County1,309$31.4 million1.9%12
Contra Costa County1,202$12.9 million0.9%6
San Mateo County1,110$20.1 million1.8%8
San Bernardino County864$10.2 million0.3%9
Placer County628$16.1 million0.6%6
San Luis Obispo County613$8.6 million1.1%10
Solano County594$11.0 million1.3%6
Alameda County568$4.6 million0.8%8
Merced County499$14.7 million5.2%7
Tehama County428$5.6 million2.1%4
San Joaquin County421$8.2 million1.8%8
Tulare County366$4.3 million2.9%5
Yolo County340$3.3 million5.0%7
Butte County335$7.2 million1.9%9
Yuba County320$8.3 million4.9%6
Kern County280$1.5 million1.1%7
Fresno County278$2.2 million0.3%4
Shasta County256$4.9 million0.8%5
Stanislaus County242$4.7 million0.4%6
El Dorado County207$4.0 million0.3%10
Humboldt County201$3.1 million0.7%8
Sutter County199$3.0 million11.5%7
Glenn County195$2.4 million3.3%7
Mendocino County183$4.7 million1.0%9
Colusa County160$3.0 million6.9%6
San Francisco County147$2.9 million0.1%4
San Benito County129$3.9 million0.6%6
Imperial County103$560,3240.1%4
Amador County78$1.5 million0.6%8
Calaveras County74$2.3 million0.4%9
Siskiyou County67$469,5340.8%6
Madera County63$698,7211.0%5
Nevada County63$1.1 million0.2%7
Plumas County57$1.1 million0.5%5
Lassen County52$1.1 million0.5%3
Mono County46$384,8871.1%6
Del Norte County37$454,5980.9%6
Sierra County26$592,2821.8%5
Trinity County23$72,5520.7%9
Tuolumne County20$308,8200.1%8
Kings County10$150,8010.5%5
Alpine County5$45,9971.4%5
Inyo County4$11,6690.5%7
Mariposa County0$00.0%7
Modoc County0$01.0%4

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in California

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4772-CA Apr 19, 2024 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4769-CA Apr 13, 2024 Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4758-CA Feb 19, 2024 Severe Storm and Flooding Yes
DR-4750-CA Nov 21, 2023 Tropical Storm Hilary No
DR-4746-CA Oct 18, 2023 Tropical Storm Hilary No
DR-4743-CA Sep 27, 2023 Tropical Storm Hilary No
DR-4714-CA May 25, 2023 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4713-CA May 18, 2023 Severe Winter Storm and Flooding No
DR-4699-CA Apr 3, 2023 Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides Yes
EM-3592-CA Mar 10, 2023 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4683-CA Jan 14, 2023 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides Yes
EM-3591-CA Jan 9, 2023 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-4434-CA May 17, 2019 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4431-CA May 1, 2019 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4425-CA Apr 8, 2019 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4423-CA Mar 28, 2019 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4422-CA Mar 26, 2019 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4353-CA Jan 2, 2018 Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows Yes
DR-4312-CA May 2, 2017 Flooding No
DR-4308-CA Apr 1, 2017 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-4305-CA Mar 16, 2017 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-4301-CA Feb 14, 2017 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides No
EM-3381-CA Feb 14, 2017 Potential Failure of the Emergency Spillway At Oroville Lake No
DR-4206-CA Jan 27, 2015 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-1952-CA Jan 26, 2011 Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Debris and Mud Flows No

Showing the 25 most recent of 33.

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.