Natural hazards · Winchester

Winchester, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winchester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Winchester?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Winchester to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding67%Earthquakes18%Wildfire14%Everything else1%

By hazard

What Winchester faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

18% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Winchester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Riverside County.

Disasters that hit Winchester

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WinchesterDeclared for Riverside County only

2007

Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows

2 households applied for aid

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

12 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

2003

Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflow and Debris Flow Directly Related T

2 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Riverside County has had 61 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

Around Winchester

Winchester and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Green Acresmostly inland floodingVery high

Winchestermostly inland floodingVery high

Hemetmostly earthquakesVery high

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