FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Homedale than in 83% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Homedale gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, #50 of 59 in Idaho. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Homedale 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
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.
What’s behind Homedale’s grade
River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Homedale, and Homedale’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #50 of 59 in Idaho; higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Homedale’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Idaho town has higher expected damage than 52% of U.S. towns; within the state, Homedale has more expected damage per building than 84% of Idaho towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Homedale: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Homedale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Homedale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Homedale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Owyhee County.The storms Homedale remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Owyhee County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Homedale itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Owyhee County has had 3 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.
Get ready for what Homedale faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Homedale
Is Homedale at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Homedale has higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #50 of 59 in Idaho. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Homedale 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 Owyhee County, 0.0% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Homedale?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Homedale’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Homedale at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Homedale’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Homedale.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Homedale’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.