FEMA puts Reliez Valley’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 90% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Reliez Valley gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, #343 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (48%), then earthquakes (47%). 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 Reliez Valley 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
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 Reliez Valley’s grade
River and rain flooding is 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in Reliez Valley, and Reliez Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 47%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D #343 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Reliez Valley’s residents live in 4 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, Reliez Valley has less expected damage per building than 60% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Reliez Valley: $2.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Reliez Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Reliez Valley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Reliez Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Contra Costa County.The storms Reliez Valley remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Contra Costa County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Reliez Valley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Contra Costa County has had 17 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.
Reliez Valley and its neighbors
Reliez Valley has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliez Valley | Dmore damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Martinez | Dmore damage than 92% | earthquakes | 87 |
| Pleasant Hill | D−more damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 34 |
| Walnut Creek | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 67 |
| Lafayette | D−more damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
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 Reliez Valley 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.
- 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 Reliez Valley
Is Reliez Valley at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Reliez Valley has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #343 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (48%) and earthquakes (47%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Reliez Valley 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 Contra Costa County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Reliez Valley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Reliez Valley’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Reliez Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and Reliez Valley’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Reliez Valley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Reliez Valley’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.