State disaster-history atlas

California disaster history

Compare federal administrative declarations and NOAA county-coded observed-event reports across 58 California county equivalents. The source-specific distributions and medians below use the full validated state corpora, with 2 detailed county profiles available to explore.

Data updated Aug 21, 2026

Counts are historical context, not risk scores

FEMA and NOAA records answer different questions, so they are never summed or ranked as danger. These pages do not predict future events or describe current conditions. For current information, use the live dashboard and follow official local instructions.

State baselines by official source

Each median is calculated across every county equivalent using the same source, unit, and coverage period as its linked county profile. Category totals describe records, not severity or losses.

Administrative records

FEMA declaration distribution

OpenFEMA county-designation records show where federal disaster declarations included a county. A single declaration can designate many counties, and declaration decisions do not inventory every physical event.

County median: 24
County sample size: 58
Statewide county records: 1,655

Statewide category distribution
Category	Records	Share of this source
Wildfire	470	28.4%
Flood	441	26.6%
Severe storm	375	22.7%
Biological	116	7%
Hurricane	63	3.8%
Winter storm	57	3.4%
Drought	47	2.8%
Coastal storm	43	2.6%
Earthquake	31	1.9%
Dam or levee failure	4	0.2%
Other	4	0.2%
Tsunami or seiche	3	0.2%
Chemical	1	0.1%

Coverage: Jan 1, 1964 – Aug 21, 2026
Source updated: Aug 20, 2026
Retrieved by HazardNow: Aug 21, 2026
Completeness for stated rules: complete

Observed-event reports

NOAA observed-event distribution

NOAA Storm Events totals include distinct county-coded records in the comparable all-event era beginning in 1996. Forecast-zone and marine-zone records are excluded from county totals.

County median: 140.5
County sample size: 58
Statewide county records: 13,137

Statewide category distribution
Category	Records	Share of this source
Flood	6,790	51.7%
Severe storm	2,016	15.3%
High wind	1,127	8.6%
Hail	829	6.3%
Tornado	756	5.8%
Landslide	664	5.1%
Wildfire	501	3.8%
Lightning	355	2.7%
Marine	62	0.5%
Other	17	0.1%
Coastal storm	13	0.1%
Winter storm	5	0%
Drought	2	0%

Coverage: Jan 1, 1996 – May 26, 2026
Source updated: Aug 19, 2026
Retrieved by HazardNow: Aug 21, 2026
Completeness for stated rules: complete

County profiles

Each profile includes monthly NOAA seasonality, representative records, same-source comparisons, preparedness implications, print and sharing tools, and complete source disclosures.

County FIPS 06019

Fresno County

Unique FEMA declarations: 20
NOAA county-event records: 754

NOAA’s largest monthly record count for this profile is 153 in January. That reporting pattern is historical context, not a seasonal forecast.

Explore Fresno County disaster history

County FIPS 06111

Ventura County

Unique FEMA declarations: 53
NOAA county-event records: 165

NOAA’s largest monthly record count for this profile is 44 in February. That reporting pattern is historical context, not a seasonal forecast.

Explore Ventura County disaster history

How to read this state atlas

Compare like with like

Compare FEMA declarations only with FEMA declarations, and NOAA county-event records only with NOAA county-event records. Coverage periods must match.

Interpret the median carefully

A county above or below the state median has a different historical record count. That does not establish greater or lower future risk.

Expect reporting limitations

Administrative policy and observation practices change. NOAA finalized records also lag recent event months, and zone-coded events are excluded from county totals.

Compare published states Open the national FEMA heatmap Review data sources