Natural hazards · Alpine

Alpine, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Alpine comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1982. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Alpine?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Alpine to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire77%Inland flooding19%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Alpine faces

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

Wildfire

77% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Alpine flood?

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

7paid claims since 1982

$98Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Alpine isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: San Diego County.

Disasters that hit Alpine

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Alpine itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Alpine.

Brought FEMA money into AlpineDeclared for San Diego County only

2024

Severe Storm and Flooding

20 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

30 households applied for aid

2007

Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows

36 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

13 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

2003

Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflow and Debris Flow Directly Related T

713 households applied for aid $1.2M aid approved

San Diego County has had 44 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Alpine covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Alpine’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Alpine. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Alpine total about $19.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.