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Westmorland, California City HallPhoto: Daniel Mayer (mav) · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Westmorland · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Westmorland than in 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Westmorland gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (60%), then river and rain flooding (39%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 60%River and rain flooding 39%

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 93%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 93% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
60% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 12 declared for Imperial County
By hazard

What Westmorland faces

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

Earthquakes

60%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

39%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Tornadoes Wildfire Hurricanes Hail Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 0%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingWinter stormsIce 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 Westmorland’s grade

Earthquakes are 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Westmorland, and Westmorland’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 39% (higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Westmorland sits
Westmorland
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes60%River and rain flooding39%Everything else0%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Westmorland: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Westmorland’s 2,014 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 Westmorland flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Imperial County.
Disasters

The storms Westmorland remembers

None of the 12 disasters declared for Imperial County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Westmorland itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WestmorlandImperial County only

Imperial County has had 12 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Westmorland 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 Westmorland

Is Westmorland at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Westmorland has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (60%) 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 Westmorland 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 Imperial County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Westmorland?

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

Is Westmorland at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Westmorland’s rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Westmorland.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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