Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Butte Creek Canyon

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Centerville SchoolhouseCenterville Schoolhouse · Photo: NoeHill · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Butte Creek Canyon · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Butte Creek Canyon

Butte Creek Canyon isn’t graded for hazard risk: Butte Creek Canyon has 713 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1996.

Flood claims
7
paid since 1996 · $175K
Disasters paid out here
0
of 24 declared for Butte County
By hazard

What Butte Creek Canyon faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

River and rain flooding

51%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

38%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Landslides top 1% Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Lightning Avalanches top 1% Volcanic activity top 3%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Butte Creek Canyon flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Butte Creek Canyon, from FEMA’s records.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 1 claim1997: 3 claims1998: 1 claim1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199619972018
19962026
Biggest named events
  • The Pineapple Express - Southern1 claim · $3K
7
paid claims since 1996
$175K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$25K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Butte Creek Canyon isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Butte County.
Disasters

The storms Butte Creek Canyon remembers

None of the 24 disasters declared for Butte County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Butte Creek Canyon itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19973 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20182 flood claims paidThe year of Wildfires, declared for Butte County
  3. 19961 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Landslides, declared for Butte County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Butte Creek CanyonButte County only

Butte County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 11 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Butte County, 2004–2024.

Were you here?

Old photos of Butte Creek Canyon after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Butte Creek Canyon archive →
Next door

Butte Creek Canyon and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Magalia: hazard risk DParadise: hazard risk C+Chico: hazard risk CMagaliaParadiseChicoButte Creek Canyon
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ParadiseC+more damage than 60%river and rain flooding1
ChicoCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding14
MagaliaDmore damage than 91%wildfire1

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Butte Creek Canyon faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Wildfire
  • Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
  • Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
  • Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Butte Creek Canyon

Does Butte Creek Canyon flood?

Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Butte Creek Canyon since 1996, $175K in all. The most claims came from Pineapple Express - Southern (1).

Is Butte Creek Canyon in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Butte County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Butte Creek Canyon?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Butte Creek Canyon’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Butte Creek Canyon?

By flood claims, Pineapple Express - Southern: 1 paid, $3K.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Butte Creek Canyon.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Butte Creek Canyon’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.