Natural hazards · Manchester

Manchester, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Manchester comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Manchester?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Manchester to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes52%Inland flooding35%Wildfire6%Landslides6%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Manchester faces

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

Earthquakes

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

6% of expected damage

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

Landslides

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsCold waves

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 Manchester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mendocino County.

Disasters that hit Manchester

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ManchesterDeclared for Mendocino County only

2023

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

2 households applied for aid $666 aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

10 households applied for aid $39K aid approved

Mendocino County has had 26 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. Manchester 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 Manchester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Manchester. 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.