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Santa YnezPhoto: Saschaporsche · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Santa Ynez · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Santa Ynez faces more hazard damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Ynez gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns, #562 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (57%), then earthquakes (27%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 57%Earthquakes 27%Wildfire 16%

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 95%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#562 of 847 in California
Hazard risk
D#562 of 847
in California · higher than 95% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
57% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 32 declared for Santa Barbara County
By hazard

What Santa Ynez 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

57%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

27%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts

Wildfire

16%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% 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
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 15% of Santa Ynez’s expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Santa Ynez’s grade

River and rain flooding is 57% of the building damage FEMA expects in Santa Ynez, and Santa Ynez’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 27%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Santa Ynez sits
Santa Ynez
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D #562 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding57%Earthquakes27%Wildfire16%

The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Santa Ynez has more expected damage per building than 66% of California towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.8M a year in losses across Santa Ynez: $4.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Santa Ynez’s 4,505 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Ynez flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Santa Ynez. 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 Ynez isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Santa Barbara County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Santa Ynez

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

  1. 2022Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides16 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
  2. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$967 aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Santa YnezSanta Barbara County only

Santa Barbara County has had 32 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 8 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Santa Barbara County, 2004–2021.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Santa Ynez archive →
Next door

Santa Ynez and its neighbors

Santa Ynez has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Ballard: not gradedSolvang: hazard risk D−BallardSolvangSanta Ynez
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Santa YnezDmore damage than 95%river and rain flooding0
SolvangD−more damage than 96%river and rain flooding4
Ballard—863 residents; we grade 1,000+

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Santa Ynez 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 ↗
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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Ynez

Is Santa Ynez at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Santa Ynez has higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #562 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (57%) and earthquakes (27%). 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 Ynez 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 Santa Barbara County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Santa Ynez?

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

By FEMA money that reached Santa Ynez, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 16 households applied for aid, $17K approved.

Is Santa Ynez at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (57%), and Santa Ynez’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Santa Ynez.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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