Hazards
Federal disasters and flood claims in SoCal
Every FEMA disaster declaration that touched a Southern California county since 2000, and every federal flood-insurance claim by year and county. Inland Empire first.
71
federal disaster declarations covered part of the Inland Empire since 2000
14 were major disasters. 10 major disasters and emergencies were storms or floods. FEMA data through Aug 4, 2026.
Flood-insurance claims, Inland Empire, 2000–2026
857
15% of all claims in the six SoCal counties
Paid on those claims
$22.5M
Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation
Biggest Inland Empire claim year since 2000
2005
126 claims, $1.5M paid
Federal disaster declarations
A declaration means the federal government agreed to help. It does not measure damage. Most declarations in SoCal are fire-management grants: FEMA pays part of the cost of fighting a wildfire while it burns. Major disasters are the big ones. They can bring aid to households for repairs.
Since 2000, 71 federal declarations covered part of the Inland Empire. 50 were wildfire fire-management grants and 14 were major disasters.
Federal declarations covering the Inland Empire, by year and type, 2000–2026
- Major disaster
- Emergency
- Fire-management grant
Declarations per year (a multi-county declaration counts once)
Show the numbers
| Year | Type | Declarations |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 3 |
| 2003 | Major disaster | 1 |
| 2003 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 8 |
| 2004 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 5 |
| 2005 | Major disaster | 2 |
| 2005 | Emergency | 1 |
| 2005 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 1 |
| 2006 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 4 |
| 2007 | Major disaster | 2 |
| 2007 | Emergency | 1 |
| 2007 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 2 |
| 2008 | Major disaster | 1 |
| 2008 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 1 |
| 2009 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 3 |
| 2010 | Major disaster | 1 |
| 2011 | Major disaster | 1 |
| 2011 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 1 |
| 2013 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 3 |
| 2015 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 1 |
| 2016 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 2 |
| 2017 | Major disaster | 1 |
| 2017 | Emergency | 1 |
| 2017 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 2 |
| 2018 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 2 |
| 2019 | Major disaster | 1 |
| 2019 | Emergency | 1 |
| 2019 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 3 |
| 2020 | Major disaster | 2 |
| 2020 | Emergency | 1 |
| 2020 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 3 |
| 2022 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 1 |
| 2023 | Major disaster | 2 |
| 2023 | Emergency | 2 |
| 2024 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 4 |
| 2026 | Wildfire fire-management grant | 1 |
21 major disasters and emergencies covered the Inland Empire since 2000: 10 storm or flood, 6 fire. 8 included aid to households.
Major disasters and emergencies covering the Inland Empire since 2000, by incident type
Major disasters and emergencies
Show the numbers
| Declared | Declaration | Type | Incident | FEMA title | Aid to households | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2023 | DR-4750-CA | Major disaster | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Hilary | No | Riverside |
| Apr 3, 2023 | DR-4699-CA | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | Yes | San Bernardino |
| Mar 10, 2023 | EM-3592-CA | Emergency | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No | San Bernardino |
| Jan 9, 2023 | EM-3591-CA | Emergency | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Oct 16, 2020 | DR-4569-CA | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | Yes | San Bernardino |
| Mar 22, 2020 | DR-4482-CA | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | Yes | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3428-CA | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Jul 8, 2019 | EM-3415-CA | Emergency | Earthquake | Earthquakes | No | San Bernardino |
| May 1, 2019 | DR-4431-CA | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No | Riverside |
| Dec 8, 2017 | EM-3396-CA | Emergency | Fire | Wildfires | No | Riverside |
| Mar 16, 2017 | DR-4305-CA | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides | No | Riverside |
| Jan 26, 2011 | DR-1952-CA | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Debris and Mud Flows | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Mar 8, 2010 | DR-1884-CA | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Debris and Mud Flows | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Nov 18, 2008 | DR-1810-CA | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | Yes | Riverside |
| Oct 24, 2007 | DR-1731-CA | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows | Yes | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Oct 23, 2007 | EM-3279-CA | Emergency | Fire | Wildfires | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Mar 13, 2007 | DR-1689-CA | Major disaster | Freezing | Severe Freeze | Yes | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Sep 13, 2005 | EM-3248-CA | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Apr 14, 2005 | DR-1585-CA | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mud and Debris Flows | No | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Feb 4, 2005 | DR-1577-CA | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides | Yes | Riverside, San Bernardino |
| Oct 27, 2003 | DR-1498-CA | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflow and Debris Flow Directly Related T | Yes | Riverside, San Bernardino |
Los Angeles County has had the most federal declarations since 2000 (67). Riverside had 47 and San Bernardino had 40.
All federal declarations by county since 2000
Show the numbers
| County | All declarations | Major disasters | Storm or flood (major + emergency) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | 47 | 12 | 8 |
| San Bernardino | 40 | 10 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | 67 | 16 | 9 |
| Orange | 25 | 8 | 6 |
| San Diego | 35 | 12 | 7 |
| Ventura | 34 | 11 | 6 |
Flood-insurance claims
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is federal flood insurance. Each claim is one insured building that took water from a flood. FEMA publishes every claim back to 1978. We show 2000 on.
In the Inland Empire, the biggest flood-claim year since 2000 was 2005 (126 claims). 3 of the 5 biggest years had a federal storm or flood declaration.
NFIP flood claims in the Inland Empire, claims filed by year of loss, 2000–2026
Claims filed
Show the numbers
| Year of loss | Claims filed | Federal storm or flood declaration that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13 | No |
| 2001 | 8 | No |
| 2002 | 7 | No |
| 2003 | 54 | No |
| 2004 | 29 | Yes |
| 2005 | 126 | Yes |
| 2006 | 12 | No |
| 2007 | 11 | No |
| 2008 | 34 | No |
| 2009 | 2 | No |
| 2010 | 94 | Yes |
| 2011 | 9 | No |
| 2012 | 10 | No |
| 2013 | 21 | No |
| 2014 | 101 | No |
| 2015 | 10 | No |
| 2016 | 24 | No |
| 2017 | 43 | Yes |
| 2018 | 18 | No |
| 2019 | 37 | Yes |
| 2020 | 14 | No |
| 2021 | 13 | No |
| 2022 | 18 | No |
| 2023 | 90 | Yes |
| 2024 | 10 | No |
| 2025 | 47 | No |
| 2026 | 2 | No |
Since 2000, Los Angeles County leads with 2,356 claims. Riverside had 434 claims and San Bernardino had 423 claims.
NFIP flood claims by county, 2000–2026
Show the numbers
| County | Claims filed | Total paid |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside | 434 | $14,815,360 |
| San Bernardino | 423 | $7,670,265 |
| Los Angeles | 2,356 | $30,840,458 |
| Orange | 785 | $8,803,119 |
| San Diego | 1,126 | $39,446,615 |
| Ventura | 434 | $9,982,311 |
What this means for water-damage work
Flood claims and storm declarations tell you when big water events hit, and where.
They do not tell you how much water-damage work there is. Most water jobs start inside the house: a burst pipe, a slab leak, a water heater, a dishwasher line. None of those are NFIP claims. Homeowners policies usually handle them, and those claims are not public.
Few homes in SoCal carry flood insurance. So a flood claim count is a small slice of the homes that actually took water in a storm. Treat a spike as a sign of a big event, not as a job count.
What this does and doesn’t tell you
- It does tell you which years brought federal disasters to each county, and what kind.
- It does tell you how many federal flood-insurance claims were filed and paid, by county and year.
- It doesn’t measure damage. A declaration means federal aid was granted. A bad event without one is not here.
- It doesn’t cover burst pipes, leaks, private flood policies or uninsured homes.
- Dollars are not adjusted for inflation. 2026 is a partial year.
- It doesn’t show cause and effect. Bars that line up are a pattern, not proof.
- Nothing here is insurance advice.
About this data
- FEMA disaster declarations in California since 2000 Observed
FEMA, OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2) (California declarations since 2000)
Covers through Aug 4, 2026. Retrieved .
Notes (3)
- Major disaster (DR), emergency (EM) and fire management assistance (FM) declarations. Fire management grants are made while a wildfire is burning; most California wildfire declarations are this type.
- Aid to households means FEMA's Individual Assistance programs were declared; public assistance is aid to governments for debris removal and repairs.
- Declarations show where federal aid was requested and granted, not how much damage occurred. A disaster without a federal declaration is not here.
- Flood insurance (NFIP) claims by year, Southern California counties Observed
FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims (v3) (claims in the six counties, by year of loss)
Covers through Sep 8, 2026. Retrieved .
Notes (3)
- National Flood Insurance Program claims only. Standard homeowners policies exclude flood, and private flood policies and uninsured losses are not here, so these claims are a small slice of water damage.
- Amounts paid are building plus contents plus increased-cost-of-compliance payments, in dollars of the day (not adjusted for inflation).
- The current year is partial (FEMA data through 2026-09-08). Recent claims can still be open, so recent years' payments grow over time.