Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, March ARB faces more hazard damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, March ARB gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (48%), then wildfire (30%). 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 March ARB 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 March ARB’s grade
Earthquakes are 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in March ARB, and March ARB’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 30%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of March ARB’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across March ARB: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does March ARB flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in March ARB. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
March ARB isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Riverside County.The storms March ARB remembers
None of the 33 disasters declared for Riverside County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching March ARB itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Riverside County has had 33 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 30 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Riverside County, 2003–2026.
March ARB and its neighbors
March ARB has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| March ARB | Dmore damage than 91% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Woodcrest | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Moreno Valley | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Riverside | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 31 |
| Perris | D−more damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Mead Valley | D−among the highest damage | wildfire | 7 |
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 March ARB 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 March ARB
Is March ARB at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, March ARB has higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (48%) and wildfire (30%). 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 March ARB 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 Riverside County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in March ARB?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for March ARB’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is March ARB at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and March ARB’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in March ARB.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where March ARB’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.