Natural hazards · Gonzales

Gonzales, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gonzales comes from drought, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1995. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gonzales?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gonzales to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and earthquakes.

Drought57%Earthquakes27%Inland flooding14%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Gonzales faces

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

Drought

57% of expected damage

Recorded about 73 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

27% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

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 Gonzales flood?

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

9paid claims since 1995

$188Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19952026

Biggest named events

Pineapple Express - Southern: 6 claims, $163K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monterey County.

Disasters that hit Gonzales

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GonzalesDeclared for Monterey County only

2023

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

15 households applied for aid $20K aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

24 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $16K to the City of Gonzales for repairs

2020

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid

Monterey County has had 30 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. Gonzales covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Gonzales’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gonzales. 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 Gonzales total about $11.6M 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.