Natural hazards · Pescadero

Pescadero, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pescadero comes from earthquakes, 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 Pescadero?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Earthquakes31%Inland flooding28%Landslides22%Drought12%Wildfire5%

By hazard

What Pescadero faces

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

Earthquakes

31% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Landslides

22% of expected damage

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

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 39 times a year in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesStrong 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 Pescadero flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: San Mateo County.

Disasters that hit Pescadero

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PescaderoDeclared for San Mateo County only

2023

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

1 household applied for aid

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

33 households applied for aid $75K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

150 households applied for aid $91K aid approved

San Mateo County has had 21 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. Pescadero 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 Pescadero’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Pescadero. 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.