Natural hazards · Rio Dell

Rio Dell, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rio Dell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1982. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rio Dell?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding63%Earthquakes36%Everything else1%

By hazard

What Rio Dell faces

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

Inland flooding

63% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

36% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Dell flood?

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

4paid claims since 1982

$31Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Humboldt County.

Disasters that hit Rio Dell

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Rio Dell itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Rio Dell.

Brought FEMA money into Rio DellDeclared for Humboldt County only

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

$321K to the City of Rio Dell for repairs

Humboldt County has had 23 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. Rio Dell 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 Rio Dell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rio Dell. 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.