Photo: Fruitianslip · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Los Ranchos’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Los Ranchos gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then wildfire (13%). 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 Los Ranchos 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
Earthquakes
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 Los Ranchos’ grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Los Ranchos, and Los Ranchos’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 13%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Los Ranchos’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Los Ranchos: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Los Ranchos flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Los Ranchos. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Los Ranchos isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: San Luis Obispo County.The storms Los Ranchos remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for San Luis Obispo County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Los Ranchos itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
San Luis Obispo County has had 23 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in San Luis Obispo County, 2016–2016.
Los Ranchos and its neighbors
Los Ranchos 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Ranchos | Dmore damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Edna | — | 330 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 Los Ranchos 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Los Ranchos
Is Los Ranchos at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Los Ranchos has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and wildfire (13%). 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 Los Ranchos 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 San Luis Obispo County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Los Ranchos?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Los Ranchos’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Los Ranchos at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Los Ranchos’ rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Los Ranchos.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Los Ranchos’ 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.