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The HaciendaPhoto: Binksternet · Public domain
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Fort Hunter Liggett · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Fort Hunter Liggett, led by wildfire

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Hunter Liggett gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (44%), then earthquakes (23%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Wildfire 44%Earthquakes 23%River and rain flooding 20%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in California · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Wildfire
44% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 26 declared for Monterey County
By hazard

What Fort Hunter Liggett faces

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

Wildfire

44%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

23%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

20%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Landslides

14%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Coastal flooding Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Lightning Avalanches top 2%
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 49% of Fort Hunter Liggett’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 Fort Hunter Liggett’s grade

Wildfire is 44% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fort Hunter Liggett, and Fort Hunter Liggett’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 23%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Fort Hunter Liggett sits
Fort Hunter Liggett
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Wildfire44%Earthquakes23%River and rain flooding20%Everything else14%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.6M a year in losses across Fort Hunter Liggett: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Fort Hunter Liggett’s 250 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with San Ardo CDP (392 residents) and Lockwood CDP (368 residents) and Bradley CDP (69 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Fort Hunter Liggett flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fort Hunter Liggett. 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

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

Insurance rates: Monterey County.
Disasters

The storms Fort Hunter Liggett remembers

None of the 26 disasters declared for Monterey County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fort Hunter Liggett itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Fort Hunter LiggettMonterey County only

Monterey County has had 26 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Monterey County, 2008–2020.

Be ready

Get ready for what Fort Hunter Liggett faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Wildfire
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
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 ↗
Landslides
  • 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.
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 Fort Hunter Liggett

Is Fort Hunter Liggett at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Hunter Liggett has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (44%) and earthquakes (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.

Is Fort Hunter Liggett 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 Monterey County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Fort Hunter Liggett?

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

Is Fort Hunter Liggett at risk from wildfire?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (44%), and Fort Hunter Liggett’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fort Hunter Liggett.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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