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2015-04-29 16 23 21 View south along E Street (U.S. Route 95) near 6th Street in Hawthorne, NevadaPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hawthorne · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Hawthorne faces more hazard damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hawthorne gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, #19 of 42 in Nevada. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (65%), then river and rain flooding (34%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 65%River and rain flooding 34%

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 80%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#19 of 42 in Nevada
Hazard risk
C−#19 of 42
in Nevada · higher than 80% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
65% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 4 declared for Mineral County
By hazard

What Hawthorne faces

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

Earthquakes

65%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

34%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Lightning top 4% Winter storms Tornadoes Hail Wildfire Heat waves Landslides Avalanches top 2% 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 Hawthorne’s grade

Earthquakes are 65% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hawthorne, and Hawthorne’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 34% (lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Hawthorne sits
Hawthorne
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #19 of 42 in Nevada; higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes65%River and rain flooding34%Everything else0%

The typical Nevada town has higher expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Hawthorne has less expected damage per building than 56% of Nevada towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Hawthorne: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Hawthorne’s 3,118 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 Hawthorne flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Mineral County.
Disasters

The storms Hawthorne remembers

None of the 4 disasters declared for Mineral County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hawthorne itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in HawthorneMineral County only

Mineral County has had 4 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Be ready

Get ready for what Hawthorne 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 Hawthorne

Is Hawthorne at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hawthorne has higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #19 of 42 in Nevada. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (65%) and river and rain flooding (34%). 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 Hawthorne 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 Mineral County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Hawthorne?

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

Is Hawthorne at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (65%), and Hawthorne’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hawthorne.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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