143
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$3.1M
Property damage
Flood in Santa Clara County, California: 143 recorded events between 1996 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #29 nationally and #9 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in Santa Clara County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in Santa Clara County is the 2010s, when 101 of the county's 143 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Santa Clara County archive, flood makes up 54.2% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #29 for this hazard and #9 within California, putting it in the 99.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Feb is the peak month for flood in Santa Clara County with 62 recorded events, while Jun is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2022 | WAYNE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 25, 2011 | GILROY | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 20, 2010 | CAMPBELL | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 28, 2016 | SAN JOSE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 28, 2014 | WAYNE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5, 2026 | PALO ALTO | — | $0 |
| Dec 25, 2025 | BURBANK | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 25, 2025 | LICK | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 13, 2025 | CARNADERO | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 13, 2025 | MOUNTAIN VIEW | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 5, 2025 | CAMPBELL | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 14, 2024 | CAMPBELL | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2024 | OLD GILROY | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2024 | MILPITAS | 0 | $10 |
| Mar 6, 2024 | MOUNTAIN VIEW | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain caused the flood control channel of the Gilroy creek near Forest Street to rise to near capacity. Just before noon firefighters and police arrived at the scene where they pulled a 43-year-old male from the water. His death was determined to be from drowning.
As an arrest warrant was being served at a home in Campbell, a man ran into his backyard and hopped over a fence, where a cement drainage ditch was running at full capacity. The man tried to jump over the ditch but got caught in the water and dragged downstream. The Police Officers saw him try to keep his head above water, but he went under and drowned.
Heavy rain caused San Francisquito Creek to flood and briefly overtop a levee in East Palo Alto. Numerous other seeps and areas where water bubbled through the levee were also noted in the area. Homes on Verbena Drive nearest the levee were evacuated. Officials placed sandbags on top of the levees to temporarily strengthen the flood defenses.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in Santa Clara County, California?
143 flood events are recorded in Santa Clara County between 1996 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in Santa Clara County?
The strongest flood on record in Santa Clara County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for Santa Clara County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flood in Santa Clara County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/santa-clara-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.