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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Biola · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Biola than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Biola gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (58%), then river and rain flooding (41%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 58%River and rain flooding 41%

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 82%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in California · higher than 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
58% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 15 declared for Fresno County
By hazard

What Biola faces

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

Earthquakes

58%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

41%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Heat waves top 2% 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 67% of Biola’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 Biola’s grade

Earthquakes are 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Biola, and Biola’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 41% (higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Biola sits
Biola
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes58%River and rain flooding41%Everything else0%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Biola: $493K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Biola’s 1,427 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 Biola flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Biola. 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

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

Insurance rates: Fresno County.
Disasters

The storms Biola remembers

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

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BiolaFresno County only

Fresno County has had 15 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.

Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Fresno County, 2016–2020.

Be ready

Get ready for what Biola 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 Biola

Is Biola at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Biola has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (58%) and river and rain flooding (41%). 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 Biola 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 Fresno County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Biola?

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

Is Biola at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Biola’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Biola.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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