Natural hazards · Bishop

Bishop, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bishop comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 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 Bishop?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bishop to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and heat waves.

Earthquakes52%Heat waves32%Inland flooding16%Everything else1%

By hazard

What Bishop faces

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

Earthquakes

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Heat waves

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherWildfireStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Bishop flood?

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

2paid claims since 1983

$9Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Inyo County.

Disasters that hit Bishop

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BishopDeclared for Inyo County only

2023

Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

10 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

Inyo County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

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. Bishop covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bishop’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bishop. 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 Bishop total about $8.3M 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.