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A Strange Steam Engine in Portola - 2 Photos (26733443444)Photo: Roger Puta · Public domain
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Portola · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Portola faces more hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Portola gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%), then wildfire (37%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1994.

River and rain flooding 50%Wildfire 37%Earthquakes 12%

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

more than 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in California · higher than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
50% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 1994 · $38K
Disasters paid out here
5
of 18 declared for Plumas County
By hazard

What Portola 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

50%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

37%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

12%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hail Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 3%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Portola’s grade

River and rain flooding is 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Portola, and Portola’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 37%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Portola sits
Portola
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding50%Wildfire37%Earthquakes12%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.8M a year in losses across Portola: $3.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Portola’s 2,100 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Delleker CDP (802 residents) and Beckwourth CDP (478 residents) and Chilcoot-Vinton CDP (446 residents) and Iron Horse CDP (269 residents) and Mabie CDP (181 residents) and Lake Davis CDP (72 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Portola flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1994

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Portola, from FEMA’s records: 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 2 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19941996
19942026
3
paid claims since 1994
$38K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$13K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Plumas County.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Portola

Disasters that paid out in Portola itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Portola), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$171K to the City of Portola for repairs
  2. 2021Wildfires16 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  3. 2017Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$199K to the City of Portola for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$40K to the City of Portola for repairs
  5. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides$1K to the City of Portola for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PortolaPlumas County only

Plumas County has had 18 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Plumas County, 2020–2021.

Were you here?

Old photos of Portola after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Portola archive →
Next door

Portola and its neighbors

Portola has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Delleker: not gradedIron Horse: not gradedLake Davis: not gradedDellekerIron HorseLake DavisPortola
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
PortolaD−more damage than 98%river and rain flooding3
Delleker—724 residents; we grade 1,000+
Iron Horse—434 residents; we grade 1,000+
Lake Davis—0 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Portola faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Portola

Is Portola at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Portola has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%) and wildfire (37%). 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.

Does Portola flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Portola since 1994, $38K in all, or 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Portola 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 Plumas County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Portola?

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

What was the biggest storm in Portola?

By FEMA money that reached Portola, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2017): $199K to the City of Portola for repairs.

Is Portola at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Portola’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Portola.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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