Natural hazards · Thermal

Thermal, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Thermal comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Thermal?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Thermal to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes50%Inland flooding47%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Thermal faces

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

Earthquakes

50% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsCold wavesLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Thermal flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Riverside County.

Disasters that hit Thermal

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ThermalDeclared for Riverside County only

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid $576 aid approved

Riverside County has had 61 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

Around Thermal

Thermal and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Coachellamostly inland floodingVery high

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