Photo: Kpapai at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Santa Venetia than almost anywhere in the U.S., led by coastal flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Venetia gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #807 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is coastal flooding (44%), then river and rain flooding (42%). Flood insurance has paid 187 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 Venetia’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Santa Venetia faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
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 Santa Venetia’s grade
Coastal flooding is 44% of the building damage FEMA expects in Santa Venetia, and Santa Venetia’s rate of coastal flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 42%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #807 of 847 in California; among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Santa Venetia’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Santa Venetia has more expected damage per building than 95% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.7M a year in losses across Santa Venetia: $6.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Santa Venetia flood? Yes: 187 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Santa Venetia, from FEMA’s records: 107.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The Pineapple Express - Southern1 claim · $15K
- The Winter storm1 claim · $4K
Santa Venetia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Marin County.The storms Santa Venetia remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Marin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Santa Venetia itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 1983104 flood claims paidThe year of Coastal Storms, Floods, Slides and Tornadoes, declared for Marin County
- 198225 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 199513 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow, declared for Marin County
Marin 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.
Old photos of Santa Venetia after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Santa Venetia archive →Santa Venetia and its neighbors
Santa Venetia is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Rafael | D−more damage than 96% | earthquakes | 454 |
| Santa Venetia | D−among the highest damage | coastal flooding | 187 |
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 Venetia faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Santa Venetia
Is Santa Venetia at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Venetia has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #807 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is coastal flooding (44%) and river and rain flooding (42%). 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.
Does Santa Venetia flood?
Flood insurance has paid 187 claims in Santa Venetia since 1978, $1.4M in all, or 107.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Pineapple Express - Southern (1).
Is Santa Venetia 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 Marin County, 38% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Santa Venetia?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Santa Venetia’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 Venetia?
By flood claims, Pineapple Express - Southern: 1 paid, $15K.
Is Santa Venetia at risk from coastal flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (44%), and Santa Venetia’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Santa Venetia.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Santa Venetia’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.