States › California › 1989
California, 1989
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1989 was 13 against 16 in 1988.
Counties with the most recorded events
| County | Events in 1989 |
|---|---|
| Riverside County | 3 |
| Imperial County | 2 |
| Contra Costa County | 2 |
| Butte County | 2 |
| San Bernardino County | 1 |
| San Diego County | 1 |
| Solano County | 1 |
| Fresno County | 1 |
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Mar 1989 | Fresno | Tornado | F0 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 1989 | Contra Costa | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 18 Sep 1989 | Contra Costa | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 18 Sep 1989 | Solano | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1989
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1989 | DR-845 | Major disaster | Earthquake | Loma Prieta Earthquake | 12 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1989 date of loss
73 NFIP claims, 26 of them paid, for $229,804.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.