Natural hazards · Terra Bella

Terra Bella, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Terra Bella comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is 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 Terra Bella?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Terra Bella to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding46%Heat waves24%Earthquakes15%Wildfire10%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Terra Bella faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Wildfire

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Terra Bella flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tulare County.

Disasters that hit Terra Bella

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Terra BellaDeclared for Tulare County only

2023

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

22 households applied for aid $20K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

4 households applied for aid

Tulare County has had 21 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. Terra Bella 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 Terra Bella’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Terra Bella. 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.