Photo: Coolsheep2 · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Santa Ana than in 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Ana gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, #404 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (55%), then river and rain flooding (45%). Flood insurance has paid 184 claims here since 1978.
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 stands out about Santa Ana’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Santa Ana 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
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 Santa Ana’s grade
Earthquakes are 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Santa Ana, and Santa Ana’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 45% (higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts).
D #404 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Santa Ana’s residents live in 62 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, Santa Ana has less expected damage per building than 52% of California towns.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Santa Ana has higher expected damage per building than 86% (#346 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $157M, is the 60th largest of those 400.
Does Santa Ana flood? Yes: 184 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Santa Ana, from FEMA’s records: 2.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 59% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The Pineapple Express - Southern29 claims · $62K
- The Winter storm4 claims · $43K
Santa Ana isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Orange County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Santa Ana
Disasters that paid out in Santa Ana itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Santa Ana), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Wildfires2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2017Wildfires100 households applied for aid$500 aid approved
- 2017Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$450K to the City of Santa Ana for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Debris and Mud Flows$9K to the City of Santa Ana for repairs7 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mud and Debris Flows$47K to the City of Santa Ana for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides21 households applied for aid$12K aid approved6 flood claims paid that year
Orange County has had 27 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 11 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Orange County, 2002–2022.
Old photos of Santa Ana after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Santa Ana archive →Santa Ana and its neighbors
Santa Ana is 5th of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Valley | Dmore damage than 87% | earthquakes | 91 |
| Garden Grove | Dmore damage than 90% | earthquakes | 60 |
| Costa Mesa | Dmore damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 67 |
| Orange | Dmore damage than 92% | earthquakes | 14 |
| Santa Ana | Dmore damage than 92% | earthquakes | 184 |
| Tustin | Dmore damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Irvine | Dmore damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 29 |
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 Santa Ana 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.
- 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 Santa Ana
Is Santa Ana at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Ana has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #404 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (55%) and river and rain flooding (45%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Santa Ana flood?
Flood insurance has paid 184 claims in Santa Ana since 1978, $1.2M in all, or 2.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 59% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 7 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Pineapple Express - Southern (29).
Is Santa Ana 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 Orange County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Santa Ana?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Santa Ana’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 Santa Ana?
By FEMA money that reached Santa Ana, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2017): $450K to the City of Santa Ana for repairs. By flood claims, Pineapple Express - Southern: 29 paid, $62K.
Is Santa Ana at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (55%), and Santa Ana’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Santa Ana.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Santa Ana’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.