Natural hazards · Summerland

Summerland, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Summerland comes from landslides, 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 Summerland?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Summerland to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from landslides and earthquakes.

Landslides35%Earthquakes24%Wildfire22%Inland flooding17%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Summerland faces

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

Landslides

35% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Wildfire

22% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

Not a risk here

HurricanesIce stormsVolcanic 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 Summerland flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Santa Barbara County.

Disasters that hit Summerland

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SummerlandDeclared for Santa Barbara County only

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

9 households applied for aid $64K aid approved

2017

Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows

25 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

15 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

Santa Barbara County has had 35 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

Around Summerland

Summerland and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Summerlandmostly landslidesVery high

Toro Canyonmostly landslidesVery high

Montecitomostly inland floodingVery high

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. Summerland 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 Summerland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Summerland. 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.