Flood Protection Information

South Yamhill River, Dec. 1964, at bridge just upstream from Willamina

Is YOUR property in a Special Flood Hazard Area?

We provide floodplain information for properties outside city limits (view the Floodplain Properties Memorandum). If you are located within city limits, please contact the appropriate city instead.

City of Dallas
City of Falls City
City of Independence
City of Monmouth
City of Salem

Do I Need to Purchase Flood Insurance?

When making a new purchase or making changes to an existing federally backed loan, such as refinancing your home, lenders are required to verify whether or not any part of your building is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) by reviewing current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) information. If a determination is made that your building is located within a SFHA, the lender must notify the borrower that the purchase of flood insurance is required as a condition of the loan. Even if the entire building is located outside of a SFHA, when mandatory flood insurance wouldn’t be required, some lenders may still require you to purchase flood insurance because up to 25% of all NFIP flood losses are within areas outside of the SFHA.

Whether or not you are in a high risk flood area, you may want to consider purchasing flood insurance. Flooding is not covered by a standard homeowner’s insurance policy. Flood insurance can be purchased even if you are located outside of a SFHA. As stated above, over 25 percent of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims come from properties identified outside of high risk flood areas. The NFIP offers a separate policy that homeowners and renters can purchase to cover their home and/or contents inside their home. Business owners can purchase policies to protect their buildings and contents as well. You can purchase flood insurance at any time, however there is usually a 30 day waiting period before a policy is effective. You should contact your insurance agent about flood insurance for your home and contents. You may also want to visit the NFIP’s website at https://www.floodsmart.gov for helpful information about insurance coverage from the NFIP.

For more information, check out our flyer.

Flood Information

For more information on water and septic precautions during and after a flood, click here to be linked to this information from the Environmental Health Division.

Do you need a permit for repair of your flood damaged structure? For more details about permit requirements, click here to be linked to this information from the Building Division. Planning new construction within the floodplain? Development within the floodplain needs review through our office. Polk County Zoning Ordinance Chapter 178 regulates development within the floodplain. Oregon Building Codes also has rules for construction within the floodplain. Before you start your project for new construction or repairs, contact our office so we can inform you of what permits will be required.

Polk County Emergency Management has several brochures and preparedness handouts available. The brochures and preparedness information on their website covers flood hazard information along with other hazards. Here are a couple to check out:

Evacuation Brochure
Flood Safety Flyer

You can also view the Polk County Emergency Operations Plan and register for Emergency Alerts through the Polk County Sheriff's Office through their website. You can also watch for flood warnings through the National Weather Service website. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also has current conditions for Oregon streams on their website, waterwatch.usgs.gov.

Floodplain Handouts

View the handouts below for more information about flood insurance, protecting your structures against flood damage, and other helpful information. We also provide other helpful information by connecting you to other agencies that provide informative flood information through our Useful Links webpage.

Another great resource for information about flood protection and the National Flood Insurance Program is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) FloodSmart webpage at www.FloodSmart.gov.

The documents below are provided in Portable Document Format (.pdf). PDF versions can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have Acrobat installed on your system, you may download the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which acts as a "plug-in" for your web browser, for free. Publications in Portable Document Format may be viewed, searched and printed out to look exactly like the original.