Natural hazards · Creston

Creston, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Creston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Creston?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Creston to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding45%Earthquakes26%Wildfire14%Drought14%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Creston faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

26% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 75 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Creston flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Creston 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 Luis Obispo County.

Disasters that hit Creston

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CrestonDeclared for San Luis Obispo County only

2023

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

3 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

42 households applied for aid $309K aid approved

2003

Earthquake

17 households applied for aid $30K aid approved

San Luis Obispo County has had 24 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. Creston 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 Creston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Creston. 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.