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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Yosemite Valley · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Yosemite Valley, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yosemite Valley gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%), then wildfire (30%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 67%Wildfire 30%Earthquakes 2%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in California · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
67% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 12 declared for Mariposa County
By hazard

What Yosemite Valley 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

67%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

30%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Landslides top 2% Tornadoes Hail Heat waves Lightning Avalanches top 0% Volcanic activity top 4%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis

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 Yosemite Valley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 67% of the building damage FEMA expects in Yosemite Valley, and Yosemite Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 30%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Yosemite Valley sits
Yosemite Valley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding67%Wildfire30%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Yosemite Valley: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Yosemite Valley’s 337 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with El Portal CDP (372 residents) and Wawona CDP (111 residents) and Fish Camp CDP (49 residents) and Foresta CDP (29 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Yosemite Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Yosemite Valley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

Disasters

The storms Yosemite Valley remembers

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

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Yosemite ValleyMariposa County only

Mariposa 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.

Also 8 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Mariposa County, 2004–2024.

Be ready

Get ready for what Yosemite Valley 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 ↗
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 Yosemite Valley

Is Yosemite Valley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yosemite Valley has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%) and wildfire (30%). 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 Yosemite Valley 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.

How much is flood insurance in Yosemite Valley?

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

Is Yosemite Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (67%), and Yosemite Valley’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Yosemite Valley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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