Natural hazards · Waterford

Waterford, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterford comes from drought, and overall the risk is 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 Waterford?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterford to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought65%Inland flooding25%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Waterford faces

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

Drought

65% of expected damage

Recorded about 69 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic 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 Waterford flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Stanislaus County.

Disasters that hit Waterford

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaterfordDeclared for Stanislaus County only

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$758K to the City of Waterford for repairs

2020

Wildfires

2 households applied for aid

Stanislaus County has had 18 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. Waterford 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 Waterford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Waterford. 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.