FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Bodega Bay than in 96% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bodega Bay gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (41%), then river and rain flooding (39%). 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 Bodega Bay faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Landslides
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 Bodega Bay’s grade
Earthquakes are 41% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bodega Bay, and Bodega Bay’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bodega Bay’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Bodega Bay: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bodega Bay flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bodega Bay. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bodega Bay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sonoma County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Bodega Bay
Disasters that paid out in Bodega Bay itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bodega Bay), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Wildfires18 households applied for aid$500 aid approved
Sonoma 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 8 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sonoma County, 2004–2020.
Old photos of Bodega Bay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bodega Bay archive →Bodega Bay and its neighbors
Bodega Bay has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodega Bay | D−more damage than 96% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Salmon Creek | — | 40 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Bodega Bay faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Bodega Bay
Is Bodega Bay at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bodega Bay has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (41%) and river and rain flooding (39%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bodega Bay 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 Sonoma County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bodega Bay?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bodega Bay’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 Bodega Bay?
By FEMA money that reached Bodega Bay, Wildfires (2017): 18 households applied for aid, $500 approved.
Is Bodega Bay at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (41%), and Bodega Bay’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bodega Bay.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bodega Bay’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.