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–Not graded
Natural hazards in Pumpkin Center · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Pumpkin Center

Pumpkin Center isn’t graded for hazard risk: Pumpkin Center has 220 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 22 declared for Kern County
By hazard

What Pumpkin Center 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
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

49%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Wildfire Tornadoes Hail Heat waves Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesWinter stormsIce stormsCold wavesLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 13% of Pumpkin Center’s expected losses. Heat waves do 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.
Flood insurance claims

Does Pumpkin Center flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pumpkin Center. 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

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

Insurance rates: Kern County.
Disasters

The storms Pumpkin Center remembers

None of the 22 disasters declared for Kern County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pumpkin Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Pumpkin CenterKern County only

Kern County has had 22 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 Kern County, 2002–2024.

Next door

Pumpkin Center and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Bakersfield: hazard risk CBakersfieldPumpkin Center
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BakersfieldCmore damage than 71%earthquakes15

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 Pumpkin Center 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 ↗
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 Pumpkin Center

Is Pumpkin Center 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 Kern County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Pumpkin Center?

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

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pumpkin Center.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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