Photo: Chmee2 · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Yreka’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yreka gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, #339 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then wildfire (20%). 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 Yreka 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
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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 Yreka’s grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Yreka, and Yreka’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 20%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D #339 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Yreka’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Yreka has less expected damage per building than 60% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.5M a year in losses across Yreka: $5.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Yreka flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Yreka. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Yreka isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Siskiyou County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Yreka
Disasters that paid out in Yreka itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Yreka), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Wildfires15 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides72 households applied for aid$91K aid approved$670K to the City of Yreka for repairs
Siskiyou County has had 14 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 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Siskiyou County, 2014–2022.
Old photos of Yreka after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Yreka archive →Get ready for what Yreka faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Yreka
Is Yreka at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yreka has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #339 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and wildfire (20%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Yreka 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 Siskiyou County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Yreka?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Yreka’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 Yreka?
By FEMA money that reached Yreka, Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides (2005): 72 households applied for aid, $91K approved, and $670K to the City of Yreka for repairs.
Is Yreka at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Yreka’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Yreka.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Yreka’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.