Natural hazards · Knightsen

Knightsen, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Knightsen comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2017. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Knightsen?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Knightsen to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding52%Earthquakes42%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Knightsen faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

42% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailHeat wavesWildfireStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Knightsen flood?

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

2paid claims since 2017

$15Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20172026

Biggest named events

California Atmospheric River: 1 claim, $7K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Contra Costa County.

Disasters that hit Knightsen

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KnightsenDeclared for Contra Costa County only

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid

Contra Costa County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Knightsen

Knightsen and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Knightsenmostly inland floodingVery high

Oakleymostly inland floodingVery 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. Knightsen covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Knightsen’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Knightsen. 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 Knightsen total about $4.7M 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.