FEMA puts Palo Cedro’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 95% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palo Cedro gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns, #541 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%), then wildfire (31%). 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 Palo Cedro 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
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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 Palo Cedro’s grade
River and rain flooding is 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palo Cedro, and Palo Cedro’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 31%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D #541 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Palo Cedro’s 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, Palo Cedro has more expected damage per building than 64% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.0M a year in losses across Palo Cedro: $2.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palo Cedro flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palo Cedro. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Palo Cedro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Shasta County.The storms Palo Cedro remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for Shasta County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Palo Cedro itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Shasta County has had 23 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 Shasta County, 2002–2021.
Palo Cedro and its neighbors
Palo Cedro has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Cedro | Dmore damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Bella Vista | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Millville | — | 939 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Palo Cedro 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Palo Cedro
Is Palo Cedro at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palo Cedro has higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #541 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%) and wildfire (31%). 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 Palo Cedro 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 Shasta County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palo Cedro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palo Cedro’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Palo Cedro at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and Palo Cedro’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palo Cedro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palo Cedro’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.