Natural hazards · Descanso

Descanso, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Descanso comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Descanso?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Descanso to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires.

Wildfire89%Inland flooding8%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Descanso faces

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

Wildfire

89% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis

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 Descanso flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Descanso 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 Diego County.

Disasters that hit Descanso

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DescansoDeclared for San Diego County only

2024

Severe Storm and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $45K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

3 households applied for aid

2007

Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows

8 households applied for aid $58K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid

2003

Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflow and Debris Flow Directly Related T

183 households applied for aid $472K aid approved

San Diego County has had 44 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Descanso 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 Descanso’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Descanso. 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.