Natural hazards · Montclair

Montclair, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Montclair comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1992. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Montclair?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Montclair to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding61%Earthquakes37%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Montclair faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

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 Montclair flood?

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

1paid claims since 1992

$10Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19922026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: San Bernardino County.

Disasters that hit Montclair

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MontclairDeclared for San Bernardino County only

2023

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

3 households applied for aid $300 aid approved

2020

Wildfires

8 households applied for aid $28K to the City of Montclair for repairs

2007

Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows

2 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mud and Debris Flows

$17K to the City of Montclair for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

5 households applied for aid

2003

Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflow and Debris Flow Directly Related T

30 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

San Bernardino County has had 56 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

Around Montclair

Montclair and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Montclairmostly inland floodingVery high

Uplandmostly inland floodingVery high

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. Montclair covers 8 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Montclair’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Montclair. 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 Montclair total about $33.6M 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.