Natural disaster risk in Marin County, California

California · population 262,172 · FIPS 06041

Overall: relatively high risk

Marin County has a composite risk score of 96.4 out of 100 — higher than 96% of US counties. It ranks 27 of 58 in California (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are coastal flooding, landslide, earthquake.

Drought now: No: no drought or dryness

No. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, no part of Marin County is in drought or abnormally dry (none of D0 to D4). That has been so for 25 weeks in a row.

Drought in Marin County: the last 52 weeks · droughtmonitor.unl.edu

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.

Risk, loss, vulnerability and resilience

MeasureRating and score
Overall risk
Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.
Relatively high 96.4
Expected annual loss
About $259.3 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.
Relatively high 96.9
Social vulnerability
Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.
Relatively low 24.7
Community resilience
Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.
Very high 99.2

Risk by hazard

FEMA's risk rating for each of 18 natural hazards in Marin County, highest first. "Not applicable" means the hazard is not modelled here.

HazardRisk rating and score
Coastal flooding Very high 97
Landslide Relatively high 99
Earthquake Relatively high 98
Inland (riverine) flooding Relatively high 96
Wildfire Relatively moderate 94
Tsunami Relatively moderate 69
Heat wave Relatively low 74
Drought Relatively low 51
Lightning Relatively low 34
Volcanic activity Very low 63
Tornado Very low 18
Strong wind Very low 11
Winter weather Very low 4
Hail Very low 3
Avalanche Not applicable
Cold wave No rating
Hurricane Not applicable
Ice storm Not applicable

FEMA disaster declarations for Marin County

Federal declarations that designated Marin County, since 1 Jan 2024 (the period this site keeps from OpenFEMA). Older declarations are in FEMA's own dataset.

Not since 1 Jan 2024: no FEMA disaster declaration in the records this site read names Marin County.

All FEMA declarations in California, with estimated apply-by dates · Open FEMA deadlines

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2.

How to read these ratings

  • Ratings run in five steps: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high and very high. They compare a county with every other US county; they are not a measure of danger on their own.
  • Scores run from 0 to 100 and are national percentiles. The bar shows the score: a score of 80 means a higher value than 80% of US counties.
  • Overall risk combines the expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience.
  • Expected annual loss is the average yearly loss to buildings, people and agriculture the model expects from all 18 hazards.
  • Social vulnerability describes how hard it may be for people to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Higher is worse.
  • Community resilience describes a community's ability to prepare, adapt and recover. Higher is better.
  • "Not applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard there (for example, hurricanes far inland).

About this data

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, version 1.20, released December 2025, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (US public domain). About the National Risk Index. The index is a model of relative risk built from historical hazard records, what is exposed and community factors. It is not a forecast, it does not describe any single property, and it is not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific address, check FEMA's flood maps and your local emergency management office.

Questions

What is the natural disaster risk in Marin County, California?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Marin County as relatively high, with a score of 96.4 out of 100 (higher than 96% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Marin County?

The hazards rated highest for Marin County are coastal flooding (very high), landslide (relatively high), earthquake (relatively high).

What is the flood risk in Marin County?

FEMA rates inland (river and rain) flooding risk in Marin County as relatively high, and coastal flooding risk as very high. For a specific property, check the FEMA flood map and your local floodplain office.

Has Marin County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Not since 1 Jan 2024: no FEMA disaster declaration in the records this site read names Marin County.

Is Marin County in a drought?

No. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, no part of Marin County is in drought or abnormally dry (none of D0 to D4). That has been so for 25 weeks in a row.

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