Natural hazards · Mojave

Mojave, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mojave comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2005. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mojave?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mojave to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes59%Inland flooding31%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Mojave faces

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

Earthquakes

59% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Mojave flood?

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

1paid claims since 2005

$849paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20052026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kern County.

Disasters that hit Mojave

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MojaveDeclared for Kern County only

2023

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

7 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid

Kern County has had 37 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Mojave covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Mojave’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Mojave. 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 Mojave total about $2.6M 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.