Natural hazards · Sparks

Sparks, NV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sparks comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 190 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sparks?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sparks to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes61%Inland flooding36%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Sparks faces

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

Earthquakes

61% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Sparks flood?

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

190paid claims since 1979

$18.2Mpaid to owners

28homes flooded more than once

19792026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washoe County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

22flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Sparks

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SparksDeclared for Washoe County only

2017

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$139K to the City of Sparks for repairs

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$705K to the City of Sparks for repairs

2005

Snow

$170K to the City of Sparks for repairs

2004

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$148K to the City of Sparks for repairs

Washoe County has had 47 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

Around Sparks

Sparks and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Spanish Springsmostly wildfiresVery high

Sun Valleymostly earthquakesHigh

Sparksmostly earthquakesHigh

Renomostly earthquakesHigh

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. Sparks covers 23 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sparks’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sparks. 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 Sparks total about $53.8M 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.