Natural hazards · King

King, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in King comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1993. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is King?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in King to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes55%Inland flooding42%Everything else3%

By hazard

What King faces

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

Earthquakes

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year 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 King flood?

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

10paid claims since 1993

$716Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19932026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. King 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 King

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KingDeclared for Monterey County only

2023

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

76 households applied for aid $201K aid approved $7K to the City of King for repairs

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

56 households applied for aid $55K aid approved $88K to the City of King for repairs

2020

Wildfires

16 households 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. King covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to King’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of King. 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 King total about $6.4M 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.