Natural hazards · Ridgecrest

Ridgecrest, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgecrest comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1998. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ridgecrest?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgecrest to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes37%Inland flooding24%Tornadoes16%Cold waves14%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Ridgecrest faces

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

Hurricanes

37% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsWinter weatherDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ridgecrest flood?

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

3paid claims since 1998

$111Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Milton: 2 claims, $109K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pinellas County.

Disasters that hit Ridgecrest

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgecrestDeclared for Pinellas County only

2017

Hurricane Irma

1 household applied for aid

Pinellas County has had 39 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Ridgecrest

Ridgecrest and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Largomostly hurricanesModerate

Ridgecrestmostly hurricanesModerate

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. Ridgecrest covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ridgecrest’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Ridgecrest. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Ridgecrest total about $850K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.