Natural hazards · Day Valley

Day Valley, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Day Valley comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1982.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Day Valley?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Day Valley to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes59%Inland flooding23%Wildfire13%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Day Valley faces

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

Earthquakes

59% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

13% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Day Valley flood?

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

5paid claims since 1982

$46Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Pineapple Express - Southern: 1 claim, $29K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Day Valley 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 Day Valley

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Santa Cruz County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Day Valley itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Day ValleyDeclared for Santa Cruz County only

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

Around Day Valley

Day Valley and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Corralitosmostly earthquakesVery high

Aptos Hills-Larkin Valleymostly earthquakesVery high

Watsonvillemostly earthquakesVery high

Day Valleymostly earthquakesVery high

Aptosmostly 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. Day Valley covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Day Valley’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Day Valley. 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 Day Valley total about $4.3M 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.