States › California › Sacramento County

Sacramento County, California

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 06067 · 1,588,921 residents (2021) · 965 sq mi · dominant hazard Flood

Hail · 9Tornado · 15Flood · 172Wind · 13Winter · 0

Sacramento County within California. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 246 events for Sacramento County, California, between 1950 and 2026; floods and flash floods account for the largest share.

That is 25.5 events per 100 square miles, in line with the California figure of 26.2, and 1.5 per 10,000 residents against 10.4 statewide.

45 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 2 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $279M and crop damage at $55K.

FEMA has designated the county in 23 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (major disaster, 3 Apr 2023).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 3,864 claims since 1978, of which 2,375 were paid, totalling $39M (about $16K per paid claim). FEMA counts 42,334 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($352M a year across 18 hazards).

45events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

246events since 19505 deaths, 2 injuries recorded

23disaster declarationslast 3 Apr 2023

3,864NFIP flood claims$39M paid

Compared with California and the United States

Measure	Sacramento County	California	US
Recorded events since 1950	246	40,849	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	25.5	26.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	1.5	10.4	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	45	1,233	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	1,170	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$279M	$30B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.4	1.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$16K	$21K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	0.9	5.0	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1

Tornado: 1Wind: 3

Tornado: 2Wind: 3

Tornado: 1Flood: 6Wind: 1Other: 2

Hail: 6Tornado: 5Flood: 1Lightning: 1Other: 19

Hail: 2Tornado: 3Flood: 49Wind: 2Other: 14

Tornado: 3Flood: 116Wind: 4Other: 1

11950s01960s41970s51980s101990s322000s702010s1242020s

Recorded events in Sacramento County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 174 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 36 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Flood172

Other36

Tornado15

Wind13

Hail9

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Flood	172	5	2.4%	detail
■ Other	36	—	1.0%
■ Tornado	15	—	3.1%	detail
■ Wind	13	—	0.1%	detail
■ Hail	9	—	1.0%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
2 Jan 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.4M	—	1	—	County
1 Jan 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
1 Jan 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
1 Jan 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
24 Dec 2025	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
1 Jan 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$134M	—	—	—	County
1 Jan 2023	Flood	Flood	—	$134M	—	—	—	County
22 Jan 2000	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$15K	—	—	1	County
14 Feb 2019	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	—	1	County
1 Jan 2006	Flood	Flood	—	$4.5M	—	—	—	County
22 Jan 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
21 Feb 2005	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$650K	—	—	—	County
26 Jan 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
2 Apr 2006	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$250K	$50K	—	—	County
7 Feb 1978	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
22 Mar 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
19 Apr 1988	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
9 Oct 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
11 Feb 2000	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
26 Feb 2018	Hail	Hail	0.50 in	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
3 Apr 2023	DR-4699	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
10 Mar 2023	EM-3592	Emergency	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
14 Jan 2023	DR-4683	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Jan 2023	EM-3591	Emergency	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Public assistance
22 Mar 2020	DR-4482	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3428	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
1 Apr 2017	DR-4308	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Public assistance
16 Mar 2017	DR-4305	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Public assistance
14 Feb 2017	DR-4301	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Public assistance
3 Feb 2006	DR-1628	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Sep 2005	EM-3248	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
9 Feb 1998	DR-1203	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Jan 1997	DR-1155	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Mar 1995	DR-1046	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding Landslides, Mud Flow	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Jan 1995	DR-1044	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mud Flows	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Oct 1989	DR-845	Major disaster	Earthquake	Loma Prieta Earthquake	Individual assistance, Public assistance
21 Feb 1986	DR-758	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Feb 1983	DR-677	Major disaster	Coastal Storm	Coastal Storms, Floods, Slides & Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Feb 1980	EM-3078	Emergency	Coastal Storm	Torrential Rain, High Tide & Winds	Public assistance
20 Jan 1977	EM-3023	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
27 Jun 1972	DR-342	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding Caused By Levee Break	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Jan 1969	DR-253	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Dec 1964	DR-183	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Sacramento County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19783,864

Paid claims2,375

Total paid$39M

Average paid claim$16K

Repetitive-loss properties18133 severe

Residential policies in force42,3349.6% of 443,240 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	7	3	$431,480	$143,827
2025	8	3	$16,070	$5,357
2024	16	1	$39,134	$39,134
2023	104	53	$1,969,337	$37,157
2022	40	17	$681,421	$40,084
2021	41	22	$447,541	$20,343
2020	9	1	$3,901	$3,901
2019	12	6	$35,645	$5,941
2018	12	6	$169,699	$28,283
2017	148	94	$2,558,018	$27,213
2016	21	6	$51,694	$8,616
2015	3	0	$0	—
2014	15	3	$25,396	$8,465
2013	3	1	$12,531	$12,531
2012	38	17	$307,574	$18,093
2011	14	6	$68,291	$11,382
2010	13	4	$10,340	$2,585
2009	11	2	$7,022	$3,511
2008	13	4	$16,641	$4,160
2007	4	0	$0	—
2006	54	39	$2,478,206	$63,544
2005	119	77	$1,927,760	$25,036
2004	87	53	$1,292,641	$24,389
2003	11	1	$5,465	$5,465
2002	27	6	$10,274	$1,712

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 98.1 of 100

Expected annual loss$352MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$215,735,947
Earthquake	Relatively High	$107,555,919
Drought	Relatively High	$13,841,238
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$7,559,233
Wildfire	Relatively Moderate	$4,761,120
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,138,452
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$384,503
Hail	Relatively Low	$313,501
Strong wind	Very Low	$55,641
Landslide	Relatively Low	$14,731
Winter weather	Very Low	$4,766
Volcanic activity	Very Low	$377

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

95823 306
95822 291
95673 278
95833 230
95825 190
95837 146
95838 143
95690 135
95610 126
95864 121
95816 118
95831 118
95818 114
95815 111
95819 109
95641 102
95834 97
95608 95
95820 86
95826 86
95621 81
95841 67
95693 64
95757 63
95628 57
95824 50
95832 49
95835 47
95662 41
95828 40
95632 35
95660 34
95811 34
95829 33
95817 29
95630 28
95814 27
95624 25
95821 19
95626 14
95827 14
95842 13
95683 12
95652 11
95812 11
95758 10
95813 8
95670 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Sacramento County, CA?

NCEI records 9 hail events in Sacramento County since 1950, in 4 different years; that is about 0.1 recorded events a year. 0 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Sacramento County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 15 tornadoes in Sacramento County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Sacramento County?

3 Apr 2023: Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 23 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Sacramento County, and how much was paid?

3,864 NFIP claims since 1978, 2,375 of them paid, for $39M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Sacramento County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Sacramento County compare with the rest of California?

25.5 recorded events per 100 square miles against 26.2 statewide, and 2.4 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 1.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.