Natural hazards · Ballico

Ballico, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ballico comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ballico?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ballico to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and earthquakes.

Drought57%Earthquakes21%Inland flooding17%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Ballico faces

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

Drought

57% of expected damage

Recorded about 72 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Ballico flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ballico.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Merced County.

Disasters that hit Ballico

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BallicoDeclared for Merced County only

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

3 households applied for aid

Merced County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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. Ballico covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ballico’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Ballico. 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 Ballico total about $5.6M 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.