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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Pine Canyon · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Pine Canyon than almost anywhere in the U.S., led by wildfire

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pine Canyon gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (48%), then river and rain flooding (34%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Wildfire 48%River and rain flooding 34%Earthquakes 15%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in California · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Wildfire
48% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 26 declared for Monterey County
By hazard

What Pine Canyon faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Wildfire

48%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

34%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

15%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Landslides top 0% Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 54% of Pine Canyon’s expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Pine Canyon’s grade

Wildfire is 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pine Canyon, and Pine Canyon’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 34%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Pine Canyon sits
Pine Canyon
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Pine Canyon’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Wildfire48%River and rain flooding34%Earthquakes15%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.6M a year in losses across Pine Canyon: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Pine Canyon’s 1,871 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Pine Canyon flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pine Canyon. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Pine Canyon isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Monterey County.
Disasters

The storms Pine Canyon remembers

None of the 26 disasters declared for Monterey County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pine Canyon itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Pine CanyonMonterey County only

Monterey County has had 26 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Monterey County, 2008–2020.

Be ready

Get ready for what Pine Canyon faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Wildfire
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Pine Canyon

Is Pine Canyon at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pine Canyon has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (48%) and river and rain flooding (34%). 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 Pine Canyon 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 Monterey County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Pine Canyon?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pine Canyon’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Pine Canyon at risk from wildfire?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and Pine Canyon’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pine Canyon.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pine Canyon’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.