Natural hazards · Taft

Taft, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Taft comes from earthquakes, 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 Taft?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Taft to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes80%Inland flooding16%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Taft faces

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

Earthquakes

80% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Taft flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kern County.

Disasters that hit Taft

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TaftDeclared for Kern County only

2023

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

10 households applied for aid $600 aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

Kern County has had 37 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Taft covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Taft’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Taft. 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 Taft total about $5.4M 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.