Natural hazards · Mad River

Mad River, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mad River 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 Mad River?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mad River to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding48%Wildfire38%Earthquakes8%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Mad River faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Wildfire

38% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Mad River flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Trinity County.

Disasters that hit Mad River

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Mad RiverDeclared for Trinity County only

2020

Wildfires

48 households applied for aid $232K aid approved

Trinity County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

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. Mad River 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 Mad River’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Mad River. 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.