Natural hazards · Paxton

Paxton, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Paxton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Paxton?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding59%Wildfire35%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Paxton faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

35% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis

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 Paxton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Plumas County.

Disasters that hit Paxton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PaxtonDeclared for Plumas County only

2021

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid $32K aid approved

Plumas County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

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