Natural hazards · San Francisco

San Francisco, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in San Francisco comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 San Francisco?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in San Francisco to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding44%Tornadoes17%Strong wind13%Cold waves12%Hail6%Heat waves5%Everything else3%

By hazard

What San Francisco faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 San Francisco flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Carver County.

Disasters that hit San Francisco

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in San Francisco itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of San Francisco.

Brought FEMA money into San FranciscoDeclared for Carver County only

2014

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

$124K to the Township of San Francisco for repairs

Carver County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around San Francisco

San Francisco and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sand Creekmostly inland floodingHigh

St. Lawrencemostly inland floodingModerate

Belle Plainemostly inland floodingModerate

Faxonmostly inland floodingModerate

San Franciscomostly inland floodingLow

Dahlgrenmostly inland floodingLow

Carvermostly inland floodingLow

Hancockmostly inland floodingLow

Louisvillemostly inland floodingLow

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. San Francisco 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 San Francisco’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of San Francisco. 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.