States › California › 2002

California, 2002

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

905events recorded1,099 in 2001

20deaths recorded338 injuries

$151Mproperty damage (estimates)$38M crop damage

12disaster declarations460 NFIP claims, $7.8M paid

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

Wind270

Winter179

Wildfire124

Cold75

Flood74

Fog74

Other59

Hail23

Heat12

Lightning10

Tornado3

Tropical1

Drought1

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 2002 was 905 against 1,099 in 2001.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 2002
San Diego County	54
San Bernardino County	39
Riverside County	37
Mono County	36
Fresno County	24
Orange County	15
Modoc County	11
Los Angeles County	9
Lassen County	8
Tulare County	7
Kings County	7
Marin County	6
Madera County	6
Kern County	6
Plumas County	5
San Francisco County	5
Merced County	5
Mariposa County	5
Humboldt County	4
Nevada County	4
Napa County	4
San Mateo County	3
Sierra County	3
Ventura County	3
Del Norte County	3

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
16 Dec 2002	San Diego	Flood	—	$60,000	3	2
5 Feb 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	—	3	—
9 Jul 2002	Forecast zone	Heat	—	—	2	—
3 Jan 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	$750,000	1	15
15 Jul 2002	Forecast zone	Heat	—	—	1	1
31 Dec 2002	Forecast zone	High Wind	84 mph	$200,000	1	—
1 Dec 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	$100,000	1	—
29 Aug 2002	San Bernardino	Wildfire	—	$20,000	1	—
19 Dec 2002	Forecast zone	High Wind	72 mph	—	1	—
22 Feb 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	—	1	—
30 Jan 2002	Forecast zone	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	—	—	1	—
9 Feb 2002	Forecast zone	High Wind	70 mph	—	1	—
16 Jul 2002	Forecast zone	Heat	—	—	1	—
23 Jul 2002	Forecast zone	Heat	—	—	1	—
1 Sep 2002	Forecast zone	Heat	—	—	1	—
3 Nov 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	—	—	41
5 Feb 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	$450,000	—	40
8 Feb 2002	Forecast zone	Dense Fog	—	$200,000	—	40
1 Aug 2002	San Diego	Wildfire	—	$10,000,000	—	38
17 Mar 2002	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	—	—	32
10 Feb 2002	San Diego	Wildfire	—	$16,000,000	—	19
22 Sep 2002	Los Angeles	Wildfire	—	$15,300,000	—	14
1 Sep 2002	Los Angeles	Wildfire	—	$12,700,000	—	14
11 Aug 2002	Riverside	Wildfire	—	$15,000	—	10
8 Jul 2002	Forecast zone	Heat	—	—	—	9
13 Mar 2002	Forecast zone	Dust Storm	—	$60,000	—	6
25 Nov 2002	Forecast zone	Dust Storm	—	—	—	6
17 Jun 2002	Riverside	Wildfire	—	$300,000	—	5
19 Jun 2002	San Diego	Wildfire	—	$300,000	—	5
1 Aug 2002	Tulare	Wildfire	—	$45,700,000	—	—
15 Apr 2002	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$500,000	—	4
9 Aug 2002	San Diego	Wildfire	—	—	—	4
16 Jun 2002	San Bernardino	Wildfire	—	$1,000,000	—	3
1 Jun 2002	San Bernardino	Wildfire	—	$300,000	—	3
8 Nov 2002	San Bernardino	Flood	—	$200,000	—	3
16 Mar 2002	Forecast zone	Winter Weather	—	$60,000	—	3
13 May 2002	Riverside	Wildfire	—	$400,000	—	2
20 Nov 2002	Orange	Wildfire	—	—	—	2
18 Jun 2002	Riverside	Wildfire	—	—	—	2
10 Jul 2002	San Bernardino	Wildfire	—	—	—	2

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 2002

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
25 Sep 2002	FM-2465	Fire management assistance	Fire	Croy Fire	2
24 Sep 2002	FM-2464	Fire management assistance	Fire	Williams Fire	2
19 Sep 2002	FM-2463	Fire management assistance	Fire	Sierra Fire	1
4 Sep 2002	FM-2462	Fire management assistance	Fire	Leona Fire	1
4 Sep 2002	FM-2461	Fire management assistance	Fire	Squirrel Fire	1
30 Jul 2002	FM-2456	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ca - Pines Fire - 07/30/02	1
22 Jul 2002	FM-2450	Fire management assistance	Fire	Deer Fire	1
27 Jun 2002	FM-2433	Fire management assistance	Fire	Louisiana Fire	1
17 Jun 2002	FM-2425	Fire management assistance	Fire	Bluecut Fire	1
6 Jun 2002	FM-2417	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ca - Copper Fire - 06-06-2002	1
14 May 2002	FM-2405	Fire management assistance	Fire	Antonio Fire	1
11 Feb 2002	FM-2396	Fire management assistance	Fire	Gavilan Fire	1

Flood insurance claims with a 2002 date of loss

460 NFIP claims, 283 of them paid, for $7,819,129.

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.