Natural hazards · Rio del Mar

Rio del Mar, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rio del Mar comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 29 claims here since 1983.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rio del Mar?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rio del Mar to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes59%Inland flooding31%Tsunamis7%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Rio del Mar faces

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

Earthquakes

59% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tsunamis

7% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Rio del Mar flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rio del Mar, from FEMA’s records.

29paid claims since 1983

$2.4Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

California Atmospheric River: 19 claims, $2.1M
December California Flooding: 4 claims, $204K
Pineapple Express - Southern: 2 claims, $26K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Santa Cruz County.

Disasters that hit Rio del Mar

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Santa Cruz County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rio del Mar itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Rio del MarDeclared for Santa Cruz County only

Santa Cruz County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Rio del Mar

Rio del Mar and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Aptosmostly earthquakesVery high

La Selva Beachmostly droughtVery high

Rio del Marmostly earthquakesVery high

Seacliffmostly earthquakesVery high

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. Rio del Mar covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rio del Mar’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Rio del Mar. 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 Rio del Mar total about $8.0M 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.