Photo: CVB · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Glen Ellen, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Glen Ellen 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 (21%). 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 stands out about Glen Ellen’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Glen Ellen 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 Glen Ellen’s grade
River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Glen Ellen, and Glen Ellen’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 21%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Glen Ellen’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 Glen Ellen: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Glen Ellen flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Glen Ellen. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Glen Ellen 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.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Glen Ellen
Disasters that paid out in Glen Ellen itself (aid to households or repair grants to Glen Ellen), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Wildfires714 households applied for aid$854K aid approved
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides32 households applied for aid$72K 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 Glen Ellen after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Glen Ellen archive →Get ready for what Glen Ellen 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 Glen Ellen
Is Glen Ellen at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Glen Ellen 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 (21%). 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 Glen Ellen 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 Glen Ellen?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Glen Ellen’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 Glen Ellen?
By FEMA money that reached Glen Ellen, Wildfires (2017): 714 households applied for aid, $854K approved.
Is Glen Ellen at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Glen Ellen’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Glen Ellen.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Glen Ellen’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.