Natural hazards · Hollister

Hollister, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hollister comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 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 Hollister?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Earthquakes82%Inland flooding16%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Hollister faces

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

Earthquakes

82% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

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 Hollister flood?

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

16paid claims since 1995

$283Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19952026

Biggest named events

Pineapple Express - Southern: 9 claims, $118K

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. Hollister 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 Benito County.

Disasters that hit Hollister

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HollisterDeclared for San Benito County only

2023

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

195 households applied for aid $697K aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $5K aid approved $19K to the City of Hollister for repairs

2017

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$82K to the City of Hollister for repairs

San Benito County has had 15 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. Hollister covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Hollister’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hollister. 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 Hollister total about $29.3M 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.