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Natural hazards · Upper Lake

Upper Lake, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Upper Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Upper Lake?

99
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding44%Wildfire19%Avalanches16%Earthquakes13%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Upper Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

19% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Avalanches

16% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis
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 Upper Lake flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Upper Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lake County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level
Disasters that hit Upper Lake

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Upper LakeDeclared for Lake County only
2020

Wildfires

19 households applied for aid
2018

Wildfires and High Winds

275 households applied for aid $998K aid approved
2017

Wildfires

8 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
2015

Valley Fire and Butte Fire

1 household applied for aid
2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

45 households applied for aid $128K aid approved
Lake County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Upper Lake 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 Upper Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Upper Lake. 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.

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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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