Natural hazards · Valley Ford

Valley Ford, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Valley Ford 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 Valley Ford?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Valley Ford to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding40%Earthquakes36%Wildfire20%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Valley Ford faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

36% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

20% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong 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 Valley Ford flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sonoma County.

Disasters that hit Valley Ford

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Valley FordDeclared for Sonoma County only

2017

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid $5K aid approved

Sonoma County has had 29 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. Valley Ford 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 Valley Ford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Valley Ford. 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.