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Condominium 1Condominium 1 · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Sea Ranch · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Sea Ranch than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sea Ranch gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (63%), then river and rain flooding (34%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 63%River and rain flooding 34%Wildfire 3%

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 90%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 90% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
63% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 24 declared for Sonoma County
By hazard

What Sea Ranch faces

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

Earthquakes

63%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

34%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Landslides top 1% Coastal flooding Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Lightning Volcanic activity top 5%
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Sea Ranch’s grade

Earthquakes are 63% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sea Ranch, and Sea Ranch’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sea Ranch sits
Sea Ranch
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Sea Ranch’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes63%River and rain flooding34%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Sea Ranch: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Sea Ranch covers 2 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Sea Ranch flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Sonoma County.
Disasters

The storms Sea Ranch remembers

None of the 24 disasters declared for Sonoma County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sea Ranch itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Sea RanchSonoma County only

Sonoma County has had 24 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 Sonoma County, 2004–2020.

Be ready

Get ready for what Sea Ranch 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 Sea Ranch

Is Sea Ranch at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sea Ranch has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (63%) and river and rain flooding (34%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Sea Ranch 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 Sonoma County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Sea Ranch?

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

Is Sea Ranch at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (63%), and Sea Ranch’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sea Ranch.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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