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Natural hazards · Potter Valley

Potter Valley, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Potter Valley comes from inland flooding, 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 Potter Valley?

99
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Potter Valley to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding50%Drought20%Earthquakes15%Wildfire15%Everything else1%
By hazard

What Potter Valley faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

20% of expected damage
Recorded about 44 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

15% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Wildfire

15% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% 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 Potter Valley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Potter 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: Mendocino County.
Disasters that hit Potter Valley

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Potter ValleyDeclared for Mendocino County only
2023

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

3 households applied for aid $17K aid approved
2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid $31K aid approved
2020

Wildfires

4 households applied for aid
2017

Wildfires

90 households applied for aid $202K aid approved
2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

17 households applied for aid $29K aid approved
Mendocino County has had 26 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. Potter 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 Potter Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Potter 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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