Olema Lime Kilns · Photo: Roger Sturtevant, photographer · Public domainFEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Lagunitas-Forest Knolls than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lagunitas-Forest Knolls 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 (67%), then earthquakes (24%). 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 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls 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 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls’ grade
River and rain flooding is 67% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lagunitas-Forest Knolls, and Lagunitas-Forest Knolls’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 24%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lagunitas-Forest Knolls’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Lagunitas-Forest Knolls: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lagunitas-Forest Knolls flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lagunitas-Forest Knolls. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lagunitas-Forest Knolls isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Marin County.The storms Lagunitas-Forest Knolls remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Marin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lagunitas-Forest Knolls itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Marin County has had 22 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.
Lagunitas-Forest Knolls and its neighbors
Lagunitas-Forest Knolls has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lagunitas-Forest Knolls | D−among the highest damage | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| San Geronimo | — | 583 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls 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 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls
Is Lagunitas-Forest Knolls at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lagunitas-Forest Knolls 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 (67%) and earthquakes (24%). 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 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls 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 Marin County, 38% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lagunitas-Forest Knolls?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lagunitas-Forest Knolls’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lagunitas-Forest Knolls at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (67%), and Lagunitas-Forest Knolls’ rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lagunitas-Forest Knolls.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lagunitas-Forest Knolls’ 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.