Natural hazards · Lee Vining

Lee Vining, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lee Vining comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Lee Vining?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lee Vining to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and avalanches.

Inland flooding38%Avalanches24%Wildfire23%Earthquakes12%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Lee Vining faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Avalanches

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Wildfire

23% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis

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 Lee Vining flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mono County.

Disasters that hit Lee Vining

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Lee ViningDeclared for Mono County only

2023

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

23 households applied for aid $43K aid approved

Mono County has had 10 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. Lee Vining 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 Lee Vining’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Lee Vining. 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.