Natural hazards · Wawona

Wawona, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wawona comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wawona?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding59%Wildfire27%Heat waves5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Wawona faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

27% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Wawona flood?

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

Disasters that hit Wawona

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WawonaDeclared for Mariposa County only

2023

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

5 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

Mariposa County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Wawona 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 Wawona’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Wawona. 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.