Storms, floods and disasters in Ballard
Ballard isn’t graded for hazard risk: Ballard has 863 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Ballard faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Landslides
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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.
Does Ballard flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ballard. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ballard 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 Barbara County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Ballard
Disasters that paid out in Ballard itself (aid to households or repair grants to Ballard), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2022Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$222 aid approved
Santa Barbara County has had 32 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 8 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Barbara County, 2004–2021.
Old photos of Ballard after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ballard archive →Ballard and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ynez | Dmore damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Los Olivos | D−among the highest damage | landslides | — |
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.
Get ready for what Ballard faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Watch for new cracks, tilting trees or suddenly muddy streams after heavy rain.
- Stay off steep slopes in a downpour.
- Leave if you hear rumbling upslope.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Ballard
Is Ballard 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 Barbara County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ballard?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ballard’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 Ballard?
By FEMA money that reached Ballard, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 1 households applied for aid, $222 approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ballard.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ballard’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.