Natural Disasters in San Marcos, CA

Hazard risk, disaster history, and FEMA data

Natural Hazard Risk

Source: FEMA National Risk Index

Risk Score

99.7

Very High

Expected Annual Loss

99.7

Score (0-100)

Social Vulnerability

24.8

Score (0-100)

Community Resilience

8.3

Score (0-100)

Top Hazard Risks

Wildfire100.0Earthquake99.7Landslide99.5

Hazard	Risk Score
Wildfire	100.0
Earthquake	99.7
Landslide	99.5
Heat Wave	98.7
Lightning	80.9
Hail	77.0
Coastal Flood	72.8
Tornado	64.4
Drought	59.4
Tsunami	52.3
Strong Wind	52.0
Winter Weather	48.3
Volcanic Activity	33.9
Avalanche	32.2
Hurricane	8.3
Cold Wave	3.1

Scores range from 0 (lowest risk) to 100 (highest risk) relative to all U.S. communities. Data from FEMA National Risk Index.

Disaster Declarations

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA

Total Declarations

Most Recent

Flood

Feb 2024

Most Common Type

Fire

28 declarations

Date	Type	Declaration
Feb 19, 2024	Flood	SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING
Jan 14, 2023	Flood	SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES
Jan 9, 2023	Flood	SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES
Oct 16, 2020	Fire	WILDFIRES
Mar 22, 2020	Biological	COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Mar 13, 2020	Biological	COVID-19
Jul 6, 2018	Fire	WEST FIRE
Jan 2, 2018	Fire	WILDFIRES, FLOODING, MUDFLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS
Dec 8, 2017	Fire	WILDFIRES
Dec 7, 2017	Fire	LILAC FIRE
Mar 16, 2017	Flood	SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES
Jun 19, 2016	Fire	BORDER 3 FIRE
May 14, 2014	Fire	POINSETTIA FIRE
May 14, 2014	Fire	COCOS FIRE
Sep 24, 2012	Fire	SHOCKEY FIRE
Jan 26, 2011	Flood	SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND DEBRIS AND MUD FLOWS
Oct 24, 2007	Fire	WILDFIRES, FLOODING, MUD FLOWS, AND DEBRIS FLOWS
Oct 23, 2007	Fire	WILDFIRES
Oct 22, 2007	Fire	RICE FIRE
Oct 21, 2007	Fire	WITCH FIRE

Showing 20 of 51 declarations

Individual Assistance

Source: FEMA Housing Assistance

Total IA Registrations

3,150

Total IA Distributed

$4,248,138

Repair/Replace

$478,167

Rental Assistance

$840,039

Disaster	Registrations	Total IA $	Avg Damage
DR-4610	1	N/A	—
DR-4382	1	N/A	—
DR-4558	3	N/A	—
DR-4353	9	N/A	—
DR-4482	522	$2,312,949	—
DR-1731	2,075	$1,318,027	$2,965
DR-4758	172	$319,432	$1,153
DR-1577	171	$225,360	$2,535
DR-1498	36	$49,831	$2,849
DR-4569	160	$22,539	$2,046

Individual and household assistance for homeowners and renters affected by federally declared disasters.

Flood Insurance (NFIP)

Source: FEMA NFIP

Total Claims

2,438

Total Claims Paid

$46,287,927

Avg Claim Payout

$18,986

County-level NFIP data from FEMA National Flood Insurance Program.

Disaster Recovery Spending

Source: FEMA Public Assistance

Total Federal Spending

$639,380,857

Disasters with PA

Total Projects

1,731

Disaster	Type	Projects	Federal $
DR-4482	Biological	268	$538,805,212
DR-1731	Fire	417	$40,659,866
DR-1498	Fire	339	$21,416,341
DR-1577	Severe Storm(s)	234	$8,981,317
DR-1585	Severe Storm(s)	149	$7,974,323
DR-4683	Severe Storm(s)	69	$7,906,645
DR-1952	Flood	125	$7,841,781
DR-4305	Flood	121	$5,254,491
DR-4569	Wildfire	8	$483,896
DR-3248	Hurricane	1	$56,985

Hazard Mitigation

Source: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance

Mitigation Projects

Federal Funding

$27,029,157

Properties Protected

Avg Benefit-Cost Ratio

5.28

BCR

Top Mitigation Project Types

Project Type	Projects	Federal $
300.2: Vegetation Management - Wildfire	20	$3,073,236
403.1: Stormwater Management - Culverts	16	$6,616,922
100.1: Public Awareness and Education (Brochures, Workshops, Videos, etc.)	8	$210,374
91.1: Local Multihazard Mitigation Plan	5	$841,689
800.1: Miscellaneous	3	$3,010,377

Federally funded projects to reduce future disaster risk. Only includes completed or obligated projects.

San Marcos has a very high overall natural hazard risk rating according to FEMA's National Risk Index. The top hazard risks are wildfire, earthquake, landslide. The area has had 51 federal disaster declarations. The most common disaster type is fire (28 declarations). 2,438 flood insurance claims have been filed in the area. FEMA has obligated $639,380,857 in public assistance recovery funding. $4,248,138 has been distributed in individual assistance to disaster-affected residents. 83 hazard mitigation projects have been funded to reduce future risk.