FEMA puts Pine Hills’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 95% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pine Hills gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns, #568 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (64%), then river and rain flooding (24%). 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 Pine Hills 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
Coastal 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 Pine Hills’ grade
Earthquakes are 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pine Hills, and Pine Hills’ rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 7%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #568 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Pine Hills’ residents live in 3 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, Pine Hills has more expected damage per building than 67% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $8.7M a year in losses across Pine Hills: $2.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pine Hills flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pine Hills. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Pine 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: Humboldt County.The storms Pine Hills remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for Humboldt County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pine Hills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Humboldt County has had 23 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Pine Hills and its neighbors
Pine Hills is 4th of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt Hill | Dmore damage than 93% | earthquakes | — |
| Bayview | Dmore damage than 94% | earthquakes | — |
| Cutten | Dmore damage than 94% | earthquakes | — |
| Pine Hills | D−more damage than 95% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Eureka | D−more damage than 96% | earthquakes | 2 |
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 Pine 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.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Pine Hills
Is Pine Hills at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pine Hills has higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #568 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (64%) and river and rain flooding (24%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Pine 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 Humboldt County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pine Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pine Hills’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Pine Hills at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Pine Hills’ rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pine Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pine 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.