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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Richgrove · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Richgrove faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, led by earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Richgrove gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (49%), then river and rain flooding (49%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 49%River and rain flooding 49%Wildfire 1%

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

less than 54%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in California · lower than 54% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
49% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 17 declared for Tulare County
By hazard

What Richgrove faces

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

Earthquakes

49%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

49%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Tornadoes Strong wind Heat waves top 1% Hail Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesWinter stormsIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 21% of Richgrove’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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 Richgrove’s grade

Earthquakes are 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Richgrove, and Richgrove’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 49% (lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Richgrove sits
Richgrove
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes49%River and rain flooding49%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Richgrove: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Richgrove’s 2,358 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Rodriguez Camp CDP (133 residents) and Jovista CDP (41 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 Richgrove flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Tulare County.
Disasters

The storms Richgrove remembers

None of the 17 disasters declared for Tulare County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Richgrove itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in RichgroveTulare County only

Tulare County has had 17 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.

Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Tulare County, 2016–2020.

Be ready

Get ready for what Richgrove faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Richgrove

Is Richgrove at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Richgrove has lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (49%) and river and rain flooding (49%). 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 Richgrove 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 Tulare County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Richgrove?

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

Is Richgrove at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Richgrove’s rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Richgrove.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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