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California natural disaster risk

Ratings for all 58 counties, the federal disaster record and flood insurance across the state.

113major disasters since 1953 (1st most)

$30.2Bexpected losses a year

1%of homes with flood insurance

Photo: BrianLiao, CC BY 2.0

California has had 113 major federal disaster declarations for natural events since 1953. FEMA expects about $30.2 billion a year in losses from natural hazards across the state. Inland flooding is the costliest hazard in 27 of its 58 counties, followed by earthquake in 17. 9 are rated Very High overall. About 1% of homes carry federal flood insurance, and the program has paid $757 million on 53,270 claims here since 1978.

Very High9counties

High22counties

Moderate17counties

Low7counties

Highest overall risk

1Los Angeles CountyVery High

2Riverside CountyVery High

3Orange CountyVery High

4San Bernardino CountyVery High

5Alameda CountyVery High

Lowest risk (50,000+ people)

1Yuba CountyLow

2Sutter CountyModerate

3San Benito CountyModerate

4Tuolumne CountyModerate

5Tehama CountyModerate

Top hazards

Inland floodingtop risk in 27 counties

Earthquaketop risk in 17 counties

Droughttop risk in 7 counties

Recent federal declarations

All states ›

Oct 16, 2026Norte FireFire management

Aug 4, 2026Gann FireFire management

Largest counties

Los Angeles County

10,005,712 people

Very High Earthquake

San Diego County

3,295,981 people

Very High Inland flooding

Orange County

3,183,647 people

Very High Earthquake

Riverside County

2,416,838 people

Very High Inland flooding

San Bernardino County

2,179,979 people

Very High Inland flooding

Santa Clara County

1,934,625 people

Very High Earthquake

Alameda County

1,678,284 people

Very High Earthquake

Sacramento County

1,584,652 people

High Inland flooding

Contra Costa County

1,165,466 people

Very High Earthquake

Fresno County

1,007,944 people

High Drought

Kern County

908,530 people

High Earthquake

San Francisco County

873,808 people

Very High Earthquake

Cities in California

All 307 cities ›

Los Angeles3,857,263 San Diego1,389,526 San Jose990,138 San Francisco830,235 Fresno545,970 Sacramento528,706 Long Beach455,548 Oakland439,418 Bakersfield411,986 Anaheim344,521 Stockton322,326 Riverside319,069 Santa Ana312,534 Irvine311,690 Chula Vista276,375

All 58 counties

Name	People	Overall risk	Top hazard	Declarations	Homes insured
Alameda County	1,678,284	Very High	Earthquake	22	0.8%
Alpine County	1,198	Very Low	Avalanche	13	1.4%
Amador County	40,427	Low	Wildfire	19	0.6%
Butte County	211,490	Moderate	Inland flooding	37	1.9%
Calaveras County	45,237	Moderate	Wildfire	22	0.4%
Colusa County	21,811	Moderate	Drought	17	6.9%
Contra Costa County	1,165,466	Very High	Earthquake	19	0.9%
Del Norte County	27,709	High	Tsunami	18	0.9%
El Dorado County	190,978	Moderate	Inland flooding	25	0.3%
Fresno County	1,007,944	High	Drought	18	0.3%
Glenn County	28,889	Low	Drought	19	3.3%
Humboldt County	135,972	High	Earthquake	24	0.7%
Imperial County	179,319	High	Earthquake	13	0.1%
Inyo County	18,979	Low	Heat wave	14	0.5%
Kern County	908,530	High	Earthquake	38	1.1%
Kings County	152,259	Moderate	Drought	17	0.5%
Lake County	68,074	Moderate	Inland flooding	33	2.4%
Lassen County	32,683	Low	Inland flooding	17	0.5%
Los Angeles County	10,005,712	Very High	Earthquake	86	0.5%
Madera County	156,146	High	Drought	23	1%
Marin County	262,172	High	Inland flooding	24	5.4%
Mariposa County	17,060	Moderate	Wildfire	22	0%
Mendocino County	91,247	High	Inland flooding	30	1%
Merced County	281,054	High	Drought	17	5.2%
Modoc County	8,672	Very Low	Inland flooding	15	1%
Mono County	13,147	Low	Inland flooding	12	1.1%
Monterey County	438,599	High	Earthquake	31	1.1%
Napa County	137,956	High	Inland flooding	37	1.9%
Nevada County	102,095	Moderate	Inland flooding	21	0.2%
Orange County	3,183,647	Very High	Earthquake	40	1%
Placer County	404,590	Moderate	Inland flooding	24	0.6%
Plumas County	19,746	Moderate	Inland flooding	21	0.5%
Riverside County	2,416,838	Very High	Inland flooding	64	0.5%
Sacramento County	1,584,652	High	Inland flooding	21	9.6%
San Benito County	64,102	Moderate	Earthquake	16	0.6%
San Bernardino County	2,179,979	Very High	Inland flooding	59	0.3%
San Diego County	3,295,981	Very High	Inland flooding	49	0.7%
San Francisco County	873,808	Very High	Earthquake	9	0.1%
San Joaquin County	778,512	High	Earthquake	23	1.8%
San Luis Obispo County	280,370	High	Inland flooding	26	1.1%
San Mateo County	763,661	High	Earthquake	22	1.8%
Santa Barbara County	447,998	High	Earthquake	41	1.9%
Santa Clara County	1,934,625	Very High	Earthquake	23	1.7%
Santa Cruz County	270,408	High	Earthquake	32	2.5%
Shasta County	181,918	Moderate	Inland flooding	39	0.8%
Sierra County	3,200	Very Low	Inland flooding	14	1.8%
Siskiyou County	43,940	Moderate	Inland flooding	21	0.8%
Solano County	452,833	High	Inland flooding	28	1.3%
Sonoma County	488,330	High	Earthquake	33	1.1%
Stanislaus County	552,683	High	Inland flooding	18	0.4%
Sutter County	99,621	Moderate	Drought	18	11.5%
Tehama County	65,755	Moderate	Inland flooding	23	2.1%
Trinity County	15,882	Low	Inland flooding	30	0.7%
Tulare County	472,585	High	Inland flooding	21	2.9%
Tuolumne County	55,536	Moderate	Wildfire	20	0.1%
Ventura County	843,136	High	Earthquake	51	1.6%
Yolo County	216,393	Moderate	Inland flooding	20	5%
Yuba County	81,512	Low	Inland flooding	26	4.9%

Linked names have a full page. Overall risk from the FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); declarations are federal disaster and emergency declarations for natural events since 1953 (OpenFEMA); homes insured is the share with NFIP flood policies.