Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Needles than in 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Needles gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, #282 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1999.
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 Needles 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
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 Needles’ grade
River and rain flooding is 94% of the building damage FEMA expects in Needles, and Needles’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Landslides add 3%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D #282 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Needles’ residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Needles has less expected damage per building than 67% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.3M a year in losses across Needles: $5.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Needles flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1999
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Needles, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Needles 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 Bernardino County.The storms Needles remembers
None of the 34 disasters declared for San Bernardino County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Needles itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19991 flood claims paidThe year of Ca-wildfires-08/25/1999, declared for San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County has had 34 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 24 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in San Bernardino County, 2002–2024.
Old photos of Needles after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Needles archive →Get ready for what Needles 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.
- 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 Needles
Is Needles at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Needles has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #282 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Needles flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Needles since 1999, $9K in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Needles 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 Bernardino County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Needles?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Needles’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Needles at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (94%), and Needles’ rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Needles.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Needles’ 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.