On FEMA’s figures, Lexington Hills faces more hazard damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lexington Hills gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, #672 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (45%), then wildfire (36%). 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 Lexington Hills faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
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 Lexington Hills’ grade
Earthquakes are 45% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lexington Hills, and Lexington Hills’ rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 36%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #672 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lexington Hills’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lexington Hills has more expected damage per building than 79% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.6M a year in losses across Lexington Hills: $2.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lexington Hills flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lexington Hills. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lexington Hills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Santa Clara County.The storms Lexington Hills remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Santa Clara County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lexington Hills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Santa Clara County has had 19 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Clara County, 2002–2020.
Get ready for what Lexington Hills faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Lexington Hills
Is Lexington Hills at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lexington Hills has higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #672 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (45%) and wildfire (36%). 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 Lexington Hills 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 Santa Clara County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lexington Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lexington Hills’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lexington Hills at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (45%), and Lexington Hills’ rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lexington Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lexington Hills’ 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.