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Post Office in Hamilton City, California-L1003166Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hamilton City · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Hamilton City faces more hazard damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hamilton City gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%), then earthquakes (48%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 50%Earthquakes 48%Wildfire 1%

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

more than 82%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in California · higher than 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
50% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 18 declared for Glenn County
By hazard

What Hamilton City 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

50%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Earthquakes

48%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 3%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 60% of Hamilton City’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 Hamilton City’s grade

River and rain flooding is 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hamilton City, and Hamilton City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 48%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Hamilton City sits
Hamilton City
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Hamilton City’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding50%Earthquakes48%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.2M a year in losses across Hamilton City: $910K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Hamilton City’s 2,263 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Hamilton City flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hamilton City. 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

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

Insurance rates: Glenn County.
Disasters

The storms Hamilton City remembers

None of the 18 disasters declared for Glenn County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hamilton City itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Hamilton CityGlenn County only

Glenn County has had 18 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Hamilton City faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Hamilton City

Is Hamilton City at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hamilton City has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%) and earthquakes (48%). 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 Hamilton City 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 Glenn County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Hamilton City?

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

Is Hamilton City at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Hamilton City’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hamilton City.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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