Natural hazards · Williams

Williams, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Williams comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1998. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Williams?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Williams to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and earthquakes.

Drought52%Earthquakes22%Inland flooding21%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Williams faces

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

Drought

52% of expected damage

Recorded about 66 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

22% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Williams flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Williams, from FEMA’s records.

10paid claims since 1998

$95Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Pineapple Express - Southern: 9 claims, $55K
February California Atmospheric River: 1 claim, $39K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Colusa County.

Disasters that hit Williams

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WilliamsDeclared for Colusa County only

2022

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$20K to the City of Williams for repairs

2017

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$119K to the City of Williams for repairs

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

$9K to the City of Williams for repairs

Colusa County has had 16 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. Williams 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 Williams’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Williams. 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.