Natural hazards · Occidental

Occidental, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Occidental 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 Occidental?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Occidental to be higher than in 90% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding41%Earthquakes41%Wildfire14%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Occidental faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

41% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong 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 Occidental flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Occidental 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.

Disasters that hit Occidental

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OccidentalDeclared for Sonoma County only

2020

Wildfires

2 households applied for aid

2017

Wildfires

5 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid

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. Occidental 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 Occidental’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Occidental. 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.