On FEMA’s figures, Bonny Doon faces more hazard damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bonny Doon gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #465 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (48%), then earthquakes (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 Bonny Doon 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
Earthquakes
Landslides
Wildfire
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 Bonny Doon’s grade
River and rain flooding is 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bonny Doon, and Bonny Doon’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 39%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D #465 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bonny Doon’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bonny Doon has more expected damage per building than 55% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.2M a year in losses across Bonny Doon: $2.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bonny Doon flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bonny Doon. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bonny Doon 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 Cruz County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bonny Doon
Disasters that paid out in Bonny Doon itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bonny Doon), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$300 aid approved
- 2020Wildfires59 households applied for aid$68K aid approved
Santa Cruz 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 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Cruz County, 2002–2020.
Old photos of Bonny Doon after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bonny Doon archive →Bonny Doon and its neighbors
Bonny Doon has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonny Doon | Dmore damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Felton | D−among the highest damage | river and rain flooding | — |
| Ben Lomond | D−among the highest damage | river and rain flooding | 48 |
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 Bonny Doon faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Bonny Doon
Is Bonny Doon at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bonny Doon has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #465 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (48%) and earthquakes (39%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bonny Doon 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 Cruz County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bonny Doon?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bonny Doon’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 Bonny Doon?
By FEMA money that reached Bonny Doon, Wildfires (2020): 59 households applied for aid, $68K approved.
Is Bonny Doon at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and Bonny Doon’s rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bonny Doon.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bonny Doon’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.