Natural hazards · Arcata

Arcata, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Arcata comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1983. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Arcata?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Arcata to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes87%Inland flooding12%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Arcata faces

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

Earthquakes

87% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningTsunamis

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Arcata flood?

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

11paid claims since 1983

$187Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19832026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Humboldt County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone homes bought out and moved

Disasters that hit Arcata

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ArcataDeclared for Humboldt County only

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

$1.7M to the City of Arcata for repairs

Humboldt County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Arcata

Arcata and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Arcatamostly earthquakesVery high

McKinleyvillemostly earthquakesVery high

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. Arcata covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Arcata’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Arcata. 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 Arcata total about $13.0M 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.