More hazard damage per building is expected in Niland than in 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Niland gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (54%), then river and rain flooding (45%). 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 Niland 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 Niland’s grade
Earthquakes are 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in Niland, and Niland’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 45%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Niland’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $799K a year in losses across Niland: $596K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Niland flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Niland. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Niland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Imperial County.The storms Niland remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Imperial County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Niland itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Imperial County has had 12 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.
Get ready for what Niland 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 Niland
Is Niland at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Niland has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (54%) and river and rain flooding (45%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Niland 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 Imperial County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Niland?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Niland’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Niland at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and Niland’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Niland.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Niland’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.