Natural hazards · Sea Ranch

Sea Ranch, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sea Ranch comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sea Ranch?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sea Ranch to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes61%Inland flooding37%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Sea Ranch faces

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

Earthquakes

61% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Sea Ranch flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sea Ranch.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sonoma County.

Disasters that hit Sea Ranch

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Sonoma County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sea Ranch itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Sea RanchDeclared for Sonoma County only

Sonoma County has had 29 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. Sea Ranch covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sea Ranch’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Sea Ranch. 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 Sea Ranch total about $1.2M 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.