Natural hazards · Bonny Doon

Bonny Doon, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bonny Doon comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bonny Doon?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bonny Doon to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes37%Inland flooding32%Drought19%Landslides6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Bonny Doon faces

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

Earthquakes

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

19% of expected damage

Recorded about 39 times a year in the area

Landslides

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireStrong windLightningTsunamis

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Bonny Doon flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Santa Cruz County.

Disasters that hit Bonny Doon

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Bonny DoonDeclared for Santa Cruz County only

2023

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

1 household applied for aid $300 aid approved

2020

Wildfires

59 households applied for aid $68K aid approved

Santa Cruz County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Bonny Doon

Bonny Doon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ben Lomondmostly inland floodingVery high

Feltonmostly inland floodingVery high

Bonny Doonmostly 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. Bonny Doon is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.