Natural hazards · Tulare

Tulare, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tulare comes from inland flooding, 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 Tulare?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tulare to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding68%Earthquakes19%Heat waves13%Everything else1%

By hazard

What Tulare faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

19% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWildfireStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold 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 Tulare flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Tulare 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 Tulare

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TulareDeclared for Tulare County only

2023

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

98 households applied for aid $29K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

64 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. Tulare covers 11 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Tulare’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Tulare. 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 Tulare total about $20.9M 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.