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Arbuckle, California, USAPhoto: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Arbuckle · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Arbuckle than in 83% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arbuckle gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, #196 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%), then earthquakes (43%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 50%Earthquakes 43%Wildfire 6%

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 83%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#196 of 847 in California
Hazard risk
C−#196 of 847
in California · higher than 83% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
50% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 15 declared for Colusa County
By hazard

What Arbuckle faces

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

River and rain flooding

50%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

43%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts

Wildfire

6%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 80% of Arbuckle’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 Arbuckle’s grade

River and rain flooding is 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Arbuckle, and Arbuckle’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Arbuckle sits
Arbuckle
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #196 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding50%Earthquakes43%Wildfire6%

The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Arbuckle has less expected damage per building than 77% of California towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $7.6M a year in losses across Arbuckle: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Arbuckle’s 3,484 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Grimes CDP (296 residents) and College City CDP (292 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Arbuckle flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Arbuckle. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Colusa County.
Disasters

The storms Arbuckle remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Colusa County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Arbuckle itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ArbuckleColusa County only

Colusa County has had 15 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Arbuckle faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
Wildfire
  • Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
  • Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
  • Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
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 Arbuckle

Is Arbuckle at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arbuckle has higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #196 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%) and earthquakes (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.

Is Arbuckle 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 Colusa County, 72% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 6.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Arbuckle?

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

Is Arbuckle at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Arbuckle’s rate for it is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Arbuckle.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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