Natural hazards · San Ardo

San Ardo, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in San Ardo comes from drought, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is San Ardo?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in San Ardo to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and wildfires.

Drought49%Wildfire19%Earthquakes14%Inland flooding9%Landslides8%Everything else1%

By hazard

What San Ardo faces

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

Drought

49% of expected damage

Recorded about 130 times a year in the area

Wildfire

19% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Landslides

8% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamisVolcanic 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 San Ardo flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monterey County.

Disasters that hit San Ardo

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into San ArdoDeclared for Monterey County only

2023

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

18 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

47 households applied for aid $54K aid approved

Monterey County has had 30 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. San Ardo 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 San Ardo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to San Ardo. 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.