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Downtown Santa MargaritaPhoto: bill mulder from santa margarita, usa · CC BY 2.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Santa Margarita · FEMA

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

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Margarita 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 (56%), then wildfire (34%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 56%Wildfire 34%Earthquakes 10%

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
56% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 23 declared for San Luis Obispo County
By hazard

What Santa Margarita 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

56%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

34%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Landslides top 1% Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Santa Margarita’s grade

River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Santa Margarita, and Santa Margarita’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 34%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Santa Margarita sits
Santa Margarita
Least damageMiddleMost damage

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

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding56%Wildfire34%Earthquakes10%Everything else0%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Santa Margarita: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides in 2022, FEMA took 97 aid registrations from Santa Margarita addresses (the town has 682 homes).
Shared tract.All of Santa Margarita’s 1,291 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Garden Farms CDP (449 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 Santa Margarita flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: San Luis Obispo County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Santa Margarita

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

  1. 2023Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides14 households applied for aid$55K aid approved
  2. 2022Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides97 households applied for aid$394K aid approved
  3. 2003Earthquake11 households applied for aid$18K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Santa MargaritaSan Luis Obispo County only

San Luis Obispo County has had 23 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in San Luis Obispo County, 2016–2016.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Santa Margarita archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Santa Margarita 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 Santa Margarita

Is Santa Margarita at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Margarita 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 (56%) and wildfire (34%). 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 Santa Margarita 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 San Luis Obispo County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Santa Margarita?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Santa Margarita’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 Margarita?

By FEMA money that reached Santa Margarita, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 97 households applied for aid, $394K approved.

Is Santa Margarita at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Santa Margarita’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Santa Margarita.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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