Natural hazards · Plumas Lake

Plumas Lake, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Plumas Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is 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 Plumas Lake?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Plumas Lake to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding61%Drought26%Earthquakes10%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Plumas Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

26% of expected damage

Recorded about 65 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Plumas Lake flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Yuba County.

Disasters that hit Plumas Lake

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Plumas LakeDeclared for Yuba County only

2017

Wildfires

4 households applied for aid

Yuba 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. Plumas Lake covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Plumas Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Plumas Lake. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Plumas Lake total about $3.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.