Photo: UncleVinny · CC BY 3.0FEMA puts Granite Bay’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Granite Bay gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, #107 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 99 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 stands out about Granite Bay’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Granite Bay 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
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 Granite Bay’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Granite Bay, and Granite Bay’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C #107 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Granite Bay’s residents live in 5 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, Granite Bay has less expected damage per building than 87% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $10.2M a year in losses across Granite Bay: $10.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Granite Bay flood? Sometimes: 99 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Granite Bay, from FEMA’s records: 12.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 77% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The Pineapple Express - Southern4 claims · $25K
Granite Bay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Placer County.The storms Granite Bay remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Placer County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Granite Bay itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 199547 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow, declared for Placer County
- 199717 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 198610 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Placer County
Placer County has had 16 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 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Placer County, 2002–2022.
Old photos of Granite Bay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Granite Bay archive →Granite Bay and its neighbors
Granite Bay is 5th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocklin | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
| Loomis | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 11 |
| Folsom | C+more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Roseville | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 259 |
| Granite Bay | Cmore damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 99 |
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 Granite Bay 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.
- 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 Granite Bay
Is Granite Bay at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Granite Bay has higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #107 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%) and wildfire (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Granite Bay flood?
Flood insurance has paid 99 claims in Granite Bay since 1982, $3.7M in all, or 12.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 77% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Pineapple Express - Southern (4).
Is Granite Bay 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 Placer County, 43% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Granite Bay?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Granite Bay’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 Granite Bay?
By flood claims, Pineapple Express - Southern: 4 paid, $25K.
Is Granite Bay at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Granite Bay’s rate for it is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Granite Bay.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Granite Bay’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.