FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Broadmoor than in 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Broadmoor gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #461 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (77%), then river and rain flooding (23%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1982.
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 Broadmoor 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
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 Broadmoor’s grade
Earthquakes are 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Broadmoor, and Broadmoor’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 23% (lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts).
D #461 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Broadmoor’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Broadmoor has more expected damage per building than 54% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across Broadmoor: $2.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Broadmoor flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Broadmoor, from FEMA’s records: 5.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 63% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Broadmoor isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: San Mateo County.The storms Broadmoor remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for San Mateo County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Broadmoor itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19824 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19871 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19981 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms and Flooding, declared for San Mateo County
San Mateo County has had 19 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in San Mateo County, 2010–2020.
Old photos of Broadmoor after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Broadmoor archive →Get ready for what Broadmoor 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.
- 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 Broadmoor
Is Broadmoor at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Broadmoor has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #461 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (77%) and river and rain flooding (23%). 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.
Does Broadmoor flood?
Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Broadmoor since 1982, $107K in all, or 5.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 63% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Broadmoor 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 San Mateo County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Broadmoor?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Broadmoor’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Broadmoor at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Broadmoor’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Broadmoor.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Broadmoor’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.