Natural hazards · East Sonora

East Sonora, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in East Sonora comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2023.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is East Sonora?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in East Sonora to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire53%Inland flooding39%Everything else8%

By hazard

What East Sonora faces

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

Wildfire

53% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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 East Sonora flood?

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

1paid claims since 2023

$38Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20232026

Biggest named events

California Atmospheric River: 1 claim, $38K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tuolumne County.

Disasters that hit East Sonora

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Tuolumne County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching East Sonora itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into East SonoraDeclared for Tuolumne County only

Tuolumne County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around East Sonora

East Sonora and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Phoenix Lakemostly inland floodingVery high

East Sonoramostly wildfiresHigh

Sonoramostly inland floodingHigh

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. East Sonora covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to East Sonora’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to East Sonora. 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 East Sonora total about $2.8M 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.