Natural hazards · Felton

Felton, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Felton 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 Felton?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Felton to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding65%Earthquakes32%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Felton faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Felton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Felton 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

56homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1flood-prone homes bought out and moved

Disasters that hit Felton

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FeltonDeclared for Santa Cruz County only

2023

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

120 households applied for aid $835K aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

324 households applied for aid $2.0M aid approved

2020

Wildfires

357 households applied for aid $81K aid approved

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

Around Felton

Felton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ben Lomondmostly inland floodingVery high

Feltonmostly inland floodingVery high

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