Sacramento County, CA Environment & Hazard Risk
Relatively High natural hazard risk, led by drought. 236 storm events since 1996.
- Expected yearly loss
- $352M
- Relatively High nationally
- Storm events since 1996
- 236
- Most often flood
- Flood insurance policies
- 42,334
- 9.6% of homes
- Hurricanes nearby
- 0
- Since 1851
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025
Overall risk
Relatively High
Score 98.1 of 100
Social vulnerability
Relatively Low
Score 37.4 of 100
Community resilience
Relatively Moderate
Score 57.0 of 100
Community resilience runs the other way: a higher rating means a community can recover faster.
Building value exposed: $296B · Agriculture value exposed: $554M · Risk-adjusted yearly loss: $364M
Risk by hazard
- DroughtRelatively High$13.84M/yr expected annual loss, about 63 events a year
- EarthquakeRelatively High$108M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 8 years
- Heat waveRelatively Moderate$7.56M/yr expected annual loss, about 7.0 events a year
- WildfireRelatively Moderate$4.76M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 291 years
- LandslideRelatively Low$14.73K/yr expected annual loss, about 4.1 events a year
- Volcanic activityVery Low$377/yr expected annual loss, about once every 10,000 years
- TornadoRelatively Moderate$2.14M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 8 years
- LightningRelatively Moderate$385K/yr expected annual loss, about 8.1 events a year
- HailRelatively Low$314K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 14 years
- Strong windVery Low$55.64K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 30 years
- Winter weatherVery Low$4,766/yr expected annual loss, about once every 17 years
Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, hurricane, ice storm, riverine flooding, tsunami.
Flood risk and insurance
National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA flood maps
Check the flood zone for an address
- Homes with flood insurance
- 42,334 of 443,240 (9.6%)
- Homes in high-risk flood zones
- 35,666
- Insured in high-risk zones
- 28,937 (81%)
- Flood claims since 1978
- 3,864
- Claims paid since 1978
- $38.75M
Flood claims paid per year
- Flooding$20.67M · 1,856 claims
- California Atmospheric River$2.65M · 128 claims
- Pineapple Express - Southern$611K · 192 claims
- Winter storm$7,792 · 3 claims
- Mid-Winter California Flooding$3,018 · 1 claim
- San Diego Flooding$0 · 1 claim
Storm history
Since 1996: 236 events, 5 deaths, $278M in damage
- Flood163 · 1 death
- Heavy Rain29
- Tornado12
- Flash Flood9 · 4 deaths
- Hail8
- Funnel Cloud7
- Thunderstorm Wind7
- Lightning1
Events per year
15 tornadoes on record (EF0 6, EF1 1, F0 5, F1 2, F2 1).
Most damaging storms
Since 1996, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage
- Flash Flood01/01/2023
Wilton, Sacramento County
$134M damage
What happened
The Cosumnes River rose rapidly due to very heavy rains and already elevated levels from previous storms. Sacramento County OES confirmed the levee along the Cosumnes River breached in three locations overnight, causing flash flooding in the surrounding areas from Rancho Murieta to Wilton. SR 99 between Dillard Rd and Grantline Rd was flooded with numerous vehicles stuck in flood waters, requiring water rescues and was closed around midnight due to flooding. Flooding continued well into January. Sacramento County issued an evacuation warning overnight for the Wilton area, changed to a shelter-in-place warning a couple of hours later due to unsafe travel conditions with surrounding flooded areas. There were an estimated 3,200 to 3,500 people in the impacted area. There were three drownings attributed to the flooding, each entered as an individual event.
- Flood01/01/2023
(Sac)sacramento Arpt, Sacramento County
$134M damage
What happened
Sacramento County completed a preliminary estimate of a total of $133 million from public storm damage from January 1 through January 17, and a total of almost $700,000 in private property damage. There was extensive levee damage and flooding along the Cosumnes River from Rancho Murieta to Wilton. There was also widespread flooding of streams, creeks, and roadways across the county. Large numbers of trees were reported down from strong wind events, with widespread power outages and reports of damage to homes and cars.
- Flash Flood01/02/1997
Wilton, Sacramento County
1 death, $2.4M damage
What happened
The heavy rains brought the Cosumnes River to record flows above designed limits for the protective levees. Twenty breaks occurred, with the largest near the town of Wilton in the southern end of the county. The surging floodwaters inundated 33,000 acres of cropland and 84 homes. Emergency workers effected several roof-top and car-top rescues by boat and helicopter. The single death occurred at the Cosumnes River bridge near the town of McConnel.
- Flash Flood01/01/2023
Mc Connell, Sacramento County
1 death
What happened
The California Highway Patrol on January 4 reported a fatality associated with the December 31 - January 1 flash flood due to levee breaks. A female body was found outside a vehicle near Dillard Road east of CA-99. This is one of three confirmed fatalities from this event.
- Flash Flood01/01/2023
Twin Cities, Sacramento County
1 death
What happened
Sacramento County Sheriff confirmed a drowning on January 4 associated with the December 31 - January 1 flash flood event. A female body was found inside a vehicle. This was the third drowning associated with the event. This flooding was due to levee breaks on the Cosumnes River.
- Flash Flood01/01/2023
Slough House, Sacramento County
1 death
What happened
There was a male fatality due to drowning in a submerged car, confirmed by Cosumnes Fire Department near SR 99 and Dillard Rd. A levee breech on the Cosumnes River caused the flash flood. This was one of three drowning deaths reported from the flash flood event. The Cosumnes Fire Department said they rescued dozens of people in the area over the past 24 hours. A helicopter from Metro Fire also rescued several people in the area. SR 99 remained closed due to flooding on the roadway. Several vehicles are still stuck in the flood waters. Wilton firefighters responded to 25 vehicles stranded in flood water and half a dozen fallen power lines. They also cleared many downed trees from the roadways as they navigated around Wilton.
Latest storm reports
Newest first
- Flood04/22/2026
Citrus, Sacramento County
- Flood04/21/2026
Cosumne, Sacramento County
- Flood04/21/2026
Fair Oaks, Sacramento County
- Flood04/21/2026
Citrus, Sacramento County
- Flood04/21/2026
White Rock, Sacramento County
- Flood04/21/2026
(Sac)sacramento Arpt, Sacramento County
- Flood04/21/2026
Arcade, Sacramento County
- Thunderstorm Wind35 kt wind04/12/2026
Polk, Sacramento County
$1,000 damage
Drinking water
62 community water systems serve about 1,615,264 people. Violations since 2021.
12 systems had health-based violations, such as a contaminant over the legal limit or a missed treatment step. 15 systems had a violation of any kind still open at last report.
- City of Sacramento MainServes 527,979 · Surface water · StateNo health violations
- Sacramento Suburban Water DistrictServes 194,444 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
- Scwa - Laguna/VineyardServes 188,417 · Surface water · Local government1 health violation+1 monitoring or reporting
- Folsom, City of - MainServes 80,969 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
- Citrus Heights Water DistrictServes 67,818 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
- Cal Am - Suburban RosemontServes 54,893 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations
- Cal Am - ParkwayServes 50,646 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations
- Cal Am - Lincoln OaksServes 48,105 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations
Largest systems by population served. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or notices were late or missing, not that the water was unsafe.
Climate
1991-2020 normals at Sacramento 5 Ese, 14 mi from the county center
Summer highs peak around 94°F in Jul and winter lows bottom out near 41°F in Dec. About 19.2 inches of rain falls in a typical year.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57°F | 41°F | 3.87 in |
| Feb | 62°F | 44°F | 3.63 in |
| Mar | 68°F | 47°F | 2.82 in |
| Apr | 74°F | 49°F | 1.44 in |
| May | 81°F | 54°F | 0.86 in |
| Jun | 89°F | 59°F | 0.21 in |
| Jul | 94°F | 61°F | 0.00 in |
| Aug | 94°F | 61°F | 0.02 in |
| Sep | 89°F | 59°F | 0.15 in |
| Oct | 79°F | 53°F | 0.93 in |
| Nov | 65°F | 45°F | 1.78 in |
| Dec | 56°F | 41°F | 3.49 in |
| Year | 63°F average | 19.2 in | |
Pollution sites
5 Superfund sites and 20 toxic release facilities in Sacramento County
Superfund sites
- Aerojet General Corp.FinalRancho Cordova
- Mather Air Force Base (ac&w Disposal Site)FinalMather
- Mcclellan Air Force Base (Ground Water Contamination)FinalMcclellan AFB
- Sacramento Army DepotFinalSacramento
- Jibboom JunkyardDeletedSacramento
Toxic release facilities
- Procter & Gamble Mfg. Co.674,057 lbs released, Sacramento
- Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber & Composites Inc.62,712 lbs released, Sacramento
- Wilbur Ellis Co LLC Rio Linda Hub26,214 lbs released, Rio Linda
- DT Fiberglass Inc10,728 lbs released, Sacramento
- Agilent Technologies Inc10,646 lbs released, Folsom
- HP Hood LLC9,024 lbs released, Sacramento
- Silgan Containers Mfg Corp2,395 lbs released, Sacramento
- Ampac Fine Chemicals LLC2,116 lbs released, Rancho Cordova
- Thatcher Co of California2,063 lbs released, Sacramento
- Chrome Craft793 lbs released, Sacramento
Total: 800,886 lbs in 2024, 117,542 lbs to air.
Superfund sitesToxic release facilitiesEPA inspections and enforcementAir toxics cancer risk75 historic places
Frequently asked questions
- How risky is Sacramento County for natural disasters?
- FEMA rates Sacramento County relatively high for overall natural hazard risk, with expected losses of $352M a year. The highest-rated hazards are drought (relatively high), earthquake (relatively high), heat wave (relatively moderate).
- What storms are most common in Sacramento County?
- Since 1996, NOAA recorded 236 storm events affecting Sacramento County, most often flood (163), heavy rain (29), tornado (12).
- How many tornadoes have hit Sacramento County?
- 15 tornadoes have been recorded in Sacramento County since 1950.
- How many homes in Sacramento County have flood insurance?
- 42,334 residential flood insurance policies are in force in Sacramento County, covering about 9.6% of homes. The program has paid $38.75M on 3,864 claims here since 1978.
- What is the weather like in Sacramento County?
- At Sacramento 5 Ese, average highs reach 94°F in Jul and lows fall to 41°F in Dec, with 19.2 inches of rain a year (1991-2020 normals).
Source: FEMA (National Risk Index, NFIP), NOAA (Storm Events, HURDAT2, Climate Normals), EPA · Last updated 08/01/2026 · Storm counts include events in forecast zones that touch the county. This product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.