Photo: The original uploader was Antandrus at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Maricopa than in 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Maricopa gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (81%), then river and rain flooding (18%). 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 Maricopa faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
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 Maricopa’s grade
Earthquakes are 81% of the building damage FEMA expects in Maricopa, and Maricopa’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 18% (lower than 57% of U.S. census tracts).
D− higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Maricopa’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Maricopa: $827K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Maricopa flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Maricopa. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Maricopa isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kern County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Maricopa
Disasters that paid out in Maricopa itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Maricopa), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2022Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$41K aid approved
Kern 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.
Also 15 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Kern County, 2002–2024.
Old photos of Maricopa after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Maricopa archive →Get ready for what Maricopa 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.
- 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 Maricopa
Is Maricopa at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Maricopa has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (81%) and river and rain flooding (18%). 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 Maricopa 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 Kern County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Maricopa?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Maricopa’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Maricopa?
By FEMA money that reached Maricopa, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 3 households applied for aid, $41K approved.
Is Maricopa at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (81%), and Maricopa’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Maricopa.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Maricopa’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.