Natural hazards · San Simeon

San Simeon, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in San Simeon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is San Simeon?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in San Simeon to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding40%Wildfire24%Drought15%Earthquakes11%Landslides8%Everything else2%

By hazard

What San Simeon faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

24% of expected damage

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

Drought

15% of expected damage

Recorded about 99 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Landslides

8% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesStrong windLightningTsunamis

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 San Simeon flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: San Luis Obispo County.

Disasters that hit San Simeon

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into San SimeonDeclared for San Luis Obispo County only

2023

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

1 household applied for aid

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

4 households applied for aid $600 aid approved

2003

Earthquake

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

San Luis Obispo County has had 24 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 Simeon 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 Simeon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to San Simeon. 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.