Natural hazards · Monte Rio

Monte Rio, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Monte Rio comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Monte Rio?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding78%Earthquakes16%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Monte Rio faces

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

Inland flooding

78% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Monte Rio flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sonoma County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

98homes raised above flood level

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Monte Rio

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Monte RioDeclared for Sonoma County only

2020

Wildfires

31 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2017

Wildfires

8 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

59 households applied for aid $67K aid approved

Sonoma County has had 29 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. Monte Rio 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 Monte Rio’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Monte Rio. 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.

Monte Rio, CA natural hazards

How exposed is Monte Rio?

What Monte Rio faces

Inland flooding

Earthquakes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Monte Rio flood?

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Wildfires

Wildfires

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby