Natural hazards · Mendota

Mendota, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mendota comes from drought, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mendota?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Drought88%Earthquakes6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Mendota faces

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

Drought

88% of expected damage

Recorded about 87 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Inland floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Mendota flood?

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

3paid claims since 1978

$3Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Fresno County.

Disasters that hit Mendota

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MendotaDeclared for Fresno County only

2023

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

$49K to the City of Mendota for repairs

2020

Wildfires

3 households applied for aid

Fresno County has had 18 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. Mendota 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 Mendota’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Mendota. 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.