Natural hazards · Paynes Creek

Paynes Creek, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Paynes Creek 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 Paynes Creek?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Paynes Creek to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding58%Wildfire19%Drought11%Earthquakes9%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Paynes Creek faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

19% of expected damage

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

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 90 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Paynes Creek flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tehama County.

Disasters that hit Paynes Creek

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Paynes CreekDeclared for Tehama County only

2021

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid

Tehama County has had 23 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. Paynes Creek 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 Paynes Creek’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Paynes Creek. 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.