Mendocino County flood history
California · From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 183 flood insurance claims in Mendocino County, California since 1978. The NFIP paid $4.7 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 2005, with 89.
In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 15 claims, and the average paid claim was $86,399.
20% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).
About 1.0% of homes in Mendocino County, California had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (339 of 33,028 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 17% (274 of 1,577).
Since 2000, FEMA has made 9 flood-related disaster declarations covering Mendocino County, California. The most recent was DR-4699-CA (Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), declared April 3, 2023.
NFIP claims by year
Show as a table
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | $0 |
| 2024 | 2 | $219,193 |
| 2023 | 1 | $266,054 |
| 2019 | 3 | $42,630 |
| 2017 | 8 | $76,913 |
| 2012 | 3 | $18,733 |
| 2006 | 3 | $128,695 |
| 2005 | 89 | $3.7 million |
| 2002 | 2 | $2,684 |
| 2000 | 1 | $0 |
| 1999 | 2 | $0 |
| 1998 | 11 | $41,732 |
| 1997 | 4 | $7,296 |
| 1996 | 8 | $57,210 |
| 1995 | 17 | $72,864 |
| 1993 | 6 | $63,547 |
| 1992 | 2 | $304 |
| 1990 | 1 | $0 |
| 1986 | 7 | $3,519 |
| 1985 | 1 | $0 |
| 1983 | 3 | $5,742 |
| 1982 | 3 | $0 |
| 1980 | 5 | $2,194 |
Named flood events
| Event | Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Atmospheric River | 2023 | 1 | $266,054 |
| Flooding | 1995 | 15 | $72,864 |
| Pineapple Express - Southern | 1998 | 10 | $41,732 |
| Flooding | 1996 | 7 | $40,895 |
| Flooding | 1997 | 3 | $7,016 |
| Flooding | 1986 | 6 | $2,699 |
| Flooding | 1983 | 2 | $1,755 |
| Flooding | 1993 | 1 | $1,562 |
How many homes have flood insurance
FEMA counts 339 residential NFIP policies in Mendocino County, against 33,028 residential buildings (1.0%). Of the 1,577 residential buildings in high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), 274 have an NFIP policy (17%). Private flood policies aren't in these counts.
Whether you're required to carry flood insurance depends on your flood zone and your mortgage. See do I need flood insurance?
Flood-related disaster declarations
| Declaration | Declared | Event | Help for individuals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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-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 |
| DR-1628-CA | Feb 3, 2006 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides | Yes |
Check your own address
County numbers can't tell you about a single building. Look up your property on FEMA's flood map, then read what your flood zone means. More counties: all of California.
Where these numbers come from
All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:
- NFIP Redacted Claims (v3) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP claims since 1978, downloaded 2026-10-08. Dollar amounts are what the NFIP paid, not adjusted for inflation. Claims filed under private flood insurance aren't included.
- NFIP Residential Penetration Rates (v1) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP residential policy contracts in force (as of August 3, 2026) divided by FEMA's count of residential buildings from the National Structure Inventory. FEMA notes that inventory is incomplete in some counties, which can inflate the rate. Private flood policies aren't counted.
- Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): disaster declarations, downloaded 2026-10-08. We count a declaration as flood-related when FEMA lists flooding (or a dam or levee break) as its incident type or a designated incident type, or the declaration's title mentions flooding.
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.