On FEMA’s figures, Bertsch-Oceanview faces more hazard damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, led by tsunamis
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bertsch-Oceanview gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is tsunamis (40%), then river and rain flooding (32%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Bertsch-Oceanview faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Tsunamis
River and rain flooding
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.
What’s behind Bertsch-Oceanview’s grade
Tsunamis are 40% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bertsch-Oceanview, and Bertsch-Oceanview’s rate of tsunamis damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 27%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Bertsch-Oceanview’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $24.0M a year in losses across Bertsch-Oceanview: $3.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bertsch-Oceanview flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bertsch-Oceanview. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bertsch-Oceanview isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Del Norte County.The storms Bertsch-Oceanview remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Del Norte County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bertsch-Oceanview itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Del Norte County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Bertsch-Oceanview and its neighbors
Bertsch-Oceanview is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crescent City | Dmore damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Bertsch-Oceanview | D−more damage than 97% | tsunamis | 0 |
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 Bertsch-Oceanview faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Strong shaking or a sudden drop in the sea means head for high ground now.
- Learn the tsunami route signs near the shore.
- Stay away until officials say it’s safe.
- 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.
- 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 Bertsch-Oceanview
Is Bertsch-Oceanview at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bertsch-Oceanview has higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is tsunamis (40%) and river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Bertsch-Oceanview 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 Del Norte County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bertsch-Oceanview?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bertsch-Oceanview’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Bertsch-Oceanview at risk from tsunamis?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (40%), and Bertsch-Oceanview’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bertsch-Oceanview.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bertsch-Oceanview’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.