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Natural hazards · Penn Valley

Penn Valley, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Penn Valley comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Penn Valley?

91
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Penn Valley to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire35%Inland flooding31%Avalanches30%Everything else4%
By hazard

What Penn Valley faces

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

Wildfire

35% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Avalanches

30% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 0% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtTsunamis
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 Penn Valley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Penn Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nevada County.
Disasters that hit Penn Valley

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Penn ValleyDeclared for Nevada County only
2023

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

8 households applied for aid $26K aid approved
2021

Wildfires

12 households applied for aid
2020

Wildfires

2 households applied for aid
2017

Wildfires

15 households applied for aid
2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

14 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
Nevada County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Penn Valley 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 Penn Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Penn Valley. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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