Photo: AnonymousEditor95 · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Covelo, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Covelo gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%), then earthquakes (14%). 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 Covelo 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
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 Covelo’s grade
River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Covelo, and Covelo’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 14%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Covelo’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Covelo: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Covelo flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Covelo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Covelo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Mendocino County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Covelo
Disasters that paid out in Covelo itself (aid to households or repair grants to Covelo), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides10 households applied for aid$53K aid approved
Mendocino County has had 25 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 Mendocino County, 2017–2018.
Old photos of Covelo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Covelo archive →Get ready for what Covelo 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.
- 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 Covelo
Is Covelo at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Covelo has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and earthquakes (14%). 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 Covelo 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 Mendocino County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Covelo?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Covelo’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 Covelo?
By FEMA money that reached Covelo, Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 10 households applied for aid, $53K approved.
Is Covelo at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Covelo’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Covelo.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Covelo’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.