More hazard damage per building is expected in Westhaven-Moonstone than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Westhaven-Moonstone gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (51%), then river and rain flooding (39%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Westhaven-Moonstone 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 Westhaven-Moonstone’s grade
Earthquakes are 51% of the building damage FEMA expects in Westhaven-Moonstone, and Westhaven-Moonstone’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 4%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Westhaven-Moonstone’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Westhaven-Moonstone: $767K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Westhaven-Moonstone flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Westhaven-Moonstone. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Westhaven-Moonstone isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Humboldt County.The storms Westhaven-Moonstone remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for Humboldt County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Westhaven-Moonstone itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Humboldt County has had 23 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Westhaven-Moonstone and its neighbors
Westhaven-Moonstone has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westhaven-Moonstone | Dmore damage than 90% | earthquakes | 0 |
| McKinleyville | Dmore damage than 92% | earthquakes | 9 |
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 Westhaven-Moonstone 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 Westhaven-Moonstone
Is Westhaven-Moonstone at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Westhaven-Moonstone has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (51%) and river and rain flooding (39%). 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 Westhaven-Moonstone 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 Humboldt County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Westhaven-Moonstone?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Westhaven-Moonstone’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Westhaven-Moonstone at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (51%), and Westhaven-Moonstone’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Westhaven-Moonstone.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Westhaven-Moonstone’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.