Photo: Patrick Nouhailler's… · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Kingsbury faces more hazard damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, led by wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kingsbury gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (42%), then earthquakes (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 Kingsbury faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
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 Kingsbury’s grade
Wildfire is 42% of the building damage FEMA expects in Kingsbury, and Kingsbury’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 39% (higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts).
C− higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Kingsbury’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.2M a year in losses across Kingsbury: $2.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Kingsbury flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Kingsbury. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Kingsbury isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Douglas County.The storms Kingsbury remembers
None of the 9 disasters declared for Douglas County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Kingsbury itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Douglas County has had 9 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 13 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Douglas County, 2002–2025.
Kingsbury and its neighbors
Kingsbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsbury | C−more damage than 83% | wildfire | 0 |
| Genoa | Dmore damage than 93% | wildfire | 35 |
| Round Hill Village | — | 823 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Zephyr Cove | — | 562 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Stateline | — | 503 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Skyland | — | 313 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Kingsbury faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Kingsbury
Is Kingsbury at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kingsbury has higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (42%) and earthquakes (39%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Kingsbury 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 Douglas County, 32% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Kingsbury?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Kingsbury’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Kingsbury at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (42%), and Kingsbury’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Kingsbury.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Kingsbury’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.