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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Amesti · FEMA

FEMA puts Amesti’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Amesti gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #741 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (71%), then river and rain flooding (27%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2016.

Earthquakes 71%River and rain flooding 27%Wildfire 2%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#741 of 847 in California
Hazard risk
D−#741 of 847
in California · higher than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
71% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2016 · $1K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 74% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Amesti faces

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

Earthquakes

71%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

27%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 19% of Amesti’s expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Amesti’s grade

Earthquakes are 71% of the building damage FEMA expects in Amesti, and Amesti’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Amesti sits
Amesti
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− #741 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Amesti’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes71%River and rain flooding27%Everything else2%

The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Amesti has more expected damage per building than 87% of California towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.7M a year in losses across Amesti: $3.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Amesti’s 2,637 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Amesti flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2016

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Amesti, from FEMA’s records: 1.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 74% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2016: 1 claim2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2016
20162026
1
paid claims since 2016
$1K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$1K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Amesti isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Santa Cruz County.
Disasters

The storms Amesti remembers

None of the 24 disasters declared for Santa Cruz County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Amesti itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20161 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AmestiSanta Cruz County only

Santa Cruz County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Cruz County, 2002–2020.

Were you here?

Old photos of Amesti after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Amesti archive →
Next door

Amesti and its neighbors

Amesti is 2nd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Watsonville: hazard risk D−Freedom: hazard risk D−Corralitos: hazard risk D−Interlaken: hazard risk D−WatsonvilleFreedomCorralitosInterlakenAmesti
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
FreedomD−more damage than 98%earthquakes—
AmestiD−more damage than 98%earthquakes1
WatsonvilleD−more damage than 98%earthquakes112
CorralitosD−among the highest damageearthquakes—
InterlakenD−among the highest damageearthquakes94

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Amesti faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Amesti

Is Amesti at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Amesti has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #741 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (71%) and river and rain flooding (27%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Amesti flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Amesti since 2016, $1K in all, or 1.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 74% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Amesti in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Santa Cruz County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Amesti?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Amesti’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Amesti at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (71%), and Amesti’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Amesti.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Amesti’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.