Natural hazards · Herald

Herald, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Herald comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Herald?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Herald to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought42%Inland flooding39%Wildfire11%Earthquakes7%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Herald faces

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

Drought

42% of expected damage

Recorded about 58 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Herald flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sacramento County.

Disasters that hit Herald

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HeraldDeclared for Sacramento County only

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

53 households applied for aid $44K aid approved

Sacramento County has had 19 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. Herald 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 Herald’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Herald. 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.