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Castro, Jose Joaquin, AdobeCastro, Jose Joaquin, Adobe · Photo: Mrwrite · Public domain
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (52%), then river and rain flooding (43%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2023.

Earthquakes 52%River and rain flooding 43%Wildfire 4%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in California · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
52% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2023 · $7K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 74% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley faces

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

Earthquakes

52%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

43%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire top 3% Landslides top 1% Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves 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 10% of Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s grade

Earthquakes are 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, and Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 43%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley sits
Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes52%River and rain flooding43%Wildfire4%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.9M a year in losses across Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley: $3.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s 2,383 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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2023

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, 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
2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2023
20232026
Biggest named events
  • The California Atmospheric River1 claim · $7K
1
paid claims since 2023
$7K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$7K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley 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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley remembers

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

  1. 20231 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Santa Cruz County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Aptos Hills-Larkin ValleySanta 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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley archive →
Next door

Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley and its neighbors

Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley is 5th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Corralitos: hazard risk D−Freedom: hazard risk D−Day Valley: hazard risk D−Aptos: hazard risk DLa Selva Beach: hazard risk DCorralitosFreedomDay ValleyAptosLa Selva BeachAptos Hills-Larkin Valley
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
La Selva BeachDmore damage than 94%earthquakes—
AptosDmore damage than 95%earthquakes—
Day ValleyD−more damage than 97%earthquakes5
FreedomD−more damage than 98%earthquakes—
Aptos Hills-Larkin ValleyD−among the highest damageearthquakes1
CorralitosD−among the highest damageearthquakes—

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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley 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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley

Is Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (52%) and river and rain flooding (43%). 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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley since 2023, $7K in all, or 1.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 74% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from California Atmospheric River (1).

Is Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley 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 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley?

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

What was the biggest storm in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley?

By flood claims, California Atmospheric River: 1 paid, $7K.

Is Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley’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.