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Natural hazards · Topanga

Topanga, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Topanga comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Topanga?

99
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

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

Wildfire55%Earthquakes23%Inland flooding22%
By hazard

What Topanga faces

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

Wildfire

55% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

23% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Topanga flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Topanga, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2024
$43Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20242026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Topanga isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Los Angeles County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Topanga

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TopangaDeclared for Los Angeles County only
2025

Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds

1,527 households applied for aid $2.1M aid approved
2020

Wildfires

4 households applied for aid
2018

Wildfires

24 households applied for aid
2008

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid
2007

Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows

2 households applied for aid
2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

74 households applied for aid $186K aid approved
Los Angeles County has had 74 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.
Around Topanga

Topanga and the towns around it

Calabasas: Very high, mostly inland floodingLos Angeles: Very high, mostly earthquakesMalibu: Very high, mostly inland floodingAgoura Hills: Very high, mostly inland floodingSanta Monica: Very high, mostly earthquakesGlendale: Very high, mostly earthquakesPasadena: Very high, mostly earthquakesRancho Palos Verdes: High, mostly earthquakesBurbank: Very high, mostly earthquakesInglewood: Very high, mostly earthquakesCarson: Very high, mostly earthquakesWest Rancho Dominguez: Very high, mostly earthquakesVernon: Very high, mostly earthquakesEast Los Angeles: Very high, mostly earthquakesGardena: Very high, mostly inland floodingWest Carson: Very high, mostly earthquakesPepperdine University: Very high, mostly earthquakesTopanga: Very high, mostly wildfires TopangaCalabasasLos AngelesMalibu
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Topangamostly wildfiresVery high
Los Angelesmostly earthquakesVery high
Calabasasmostly inland floodingVery high
Malibumostly 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. Topanga covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Topanga’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Topanga. 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 Topanga total about $4.6M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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