Natural hazards · Pajaro

Pajaro, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pajaro comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pajaro?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Earthquakes58%Inland flooding24%Drought17%

By hazard

What Pajaro faces

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

Earthquakes

58% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage

Recorded about 42 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningTsunamis

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Pajaro flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monterey County.

Disasters that hit Pajaro

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PajaroDeclared for Monterey County only

2023

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

110 households applied for aid $339K aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

7 households applied for aid

Monterey County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Pajaro

Pajaro and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Pajaromostly earthquakesVery high

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