La Purísima Mission · Photo: Jsweida · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Mission Hills than in 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mission Hills gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, #421 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then landslides (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 Mission Hills 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
Landslides
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 Mission Hills’ grade
River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mission Hills, and Mission Hills’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Landslides add 18%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D #421 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Mission 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, Mission Hills has less expected damage per building than 50% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.2M a year in losses across Mission Hills: $2.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Mission Hills flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mission Hills. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Mission 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 Barbara County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mission Hills
Disasters that paid out in Mission Hills itself (aid to households or repair grants to Mission Hills), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Wildfires and Straight-line Winds131 households applied for aid$67K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides12 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
Santa Barbara County has had 32 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 8 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Barbara County, 2004–2021.
Old photos of Mission Hills after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mission Hills archive →Mission Hills and its neighbors
Mission Hills is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lompoc | Dmore damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Mission Hills | Dmore damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Mission 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.
- 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.
- Watch for new cracks, tilting trees or suddenly muddy streams after heavy rain.
- Stay off steep slopes in a downpour.
- Leave if you hear rumbling upslope.
- 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 Mission Hills
Is Mission Hills at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mission Hills has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #421 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and landslides (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 Mission 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 Barbara County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Mission Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mission Hills’ 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 Mission Hills?
By FEMA money that reached Mission Hills, Wildfires and Straight-line Winds (2025): 131 households applied for aid, $67K approved.
Is Mission Hills at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Mission Hills’ rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mission Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mission 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.