Natural hazards · Shandon

Shandon, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shandon comes from drought, 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 Shandon?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Shandon to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought54%Inland flooding22%Earthquakes16%Wildfire6%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Shandon faces

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

Drought

54% of expected damage

Recorded about 97 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

16% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Shandon flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Shandon 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 Shandon

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ShandonDeclared for San Luis Obispo County only

2023

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

3 households applied for aid $300 aid approved

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

6 households applied for aid

2003

Earthquake

10 households applied for aid $7K 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. Shandon 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 Shandon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Shandon. 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.