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Hazard Lookup

Use these official tools and resources to check flood, landslide, and other hazard risk for your area. See the section list for the full list of categories covered.

Start Here

Check this one multi-hazard lookup first, before diving into the hazard-specific tools below.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
Screenshot of the Cal OES MyHazards tool showing flood, landslide, and wildfire hazard layers for a Southern California address.

Cal OES MyHazards

Look up flood, landslide, tsunami, wildfire, and earthquake hazard levels for any California address.

Coverage: Statewide (California)

Did MyHazards flag something?

Jump to what to do next for each hazard MyHazards reports.

StayReadySoCal is an independent, educational resource. It is not affiliated with any government agency and makes no representations about flood, landslide, storm, earthquake, wildfire, tsunami, or other hazard risk. Nothing on this site is professional legal, insurance, engineering, or medical advice or a substitute for consulting a licensed professional, and it may not reflect your specific property or circumstances. Always consult official sources (NOAA, USGS, Cal OES, your county emergency services) and follow guidance from local authorities.

Flood & Coastal

Regulatory flood-zone maps, coastal flood and sea-level-rise modeling, and real-time river/creek gauge forecasts.

United States Geological Survey
Screenshot of the USGS CoSMoS tool showing color-coded coastal flood and storm-surge exposure zones along a Southern California coastline.

USGS CoSMoS / Our Coast Our Future

Southern California coastal flood, storm surge, and king tide projections down to the parcel level for LA and San Diego counties.

Coverage: LA County, San Diego County

NOAA
Screenshot of the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer showing projected coastal flooding extent under an elevated sea-level-rise scenario.

NOAA Sea Level Rise & Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer

Sea level rise and coastal flooding exposure mapping.

Coverage: U.S. coastal regions

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Screenshot of a FEMA flood map (FIRMette) for the Del Mar coastline in San Diego County, showing coastal and riverine flood zones along the San Dieguito River and the map legend.

FEMA Flood Map Service Center

Official regulatory flood-zone determinations by address, distinct from USGS CoSMoS's future/climate-scenario coastal flood modeling above. This is what determines NFIP flood-insurance requirements.

Coverage: Nationwide (U.S.)

NOAA / National Weather Service California-Nevada River Forecast Center
Screenshot of the CNRFC Southern California River Bulletin map showing river gauge locations from Santa Maria to San Diego, color-coded by forecast flood stage.

Southern California River Bulletin (CNRFC)

Real-time river and creek gauge data with flood-stage forecasts for specific Southern California waterways, rather than a static risk layer.

Coverage: Southern California river and creek gauge network

If MyHazards or one of these tools flagged a flood risk

Flood

FEMA's Homeowner's Guide to Retrofitting (FEMA P-312) is written for homeowners who want to know how to protect their homes from flooding, and FEMA describes it as designed for readers with little or no experience with flood protection methods or building construction.

Flood insurance and the NFIP →

Landslide & Debris Flow

State landslide susceptibility zones and burn-scar debris-flow risk for recently burned hillsides, including the Palisades and Eaton fire scars.

California Geological Survey
Screenshot of the California Geological Survey landslide susceptibility map showing shaded hazard zones over hillside terrain.

California Geological Survey Landslide Zones

State-mapped landslide susceptibility, useful for inland-but-coastal-adjacent hillside areas.

Coverage: Statewide (California)

United States Geological Survey
Screenshot of the USGS Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazard Assessment Viewer showing color-coded debris-flow likelihood across the Palisades Fire burn area in the Santa Monica Mountains.

USGS Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazard Assessment Viewer

Debris-flow likelihood and magnitude estimates for specific recently burned areas, including the Palisades and Eaton fire burn scars.

Coverage: Recently burned areas nationwide; active coverage for LA County burn scars

If one of these tools flagged a landslide risk

Landslide & Debris Flow

USGS lists warning signs that ground may be moving, including sticking windows or doors, new cracks in walls, ceilings, or foundations, and leaning utility poles, deformed fences, or tilting trees on a hillside. For existing homes, USGS's preparedness guidance points to hiring a professional geologist or engineer with landslide experience for an evaluation.

Insurance note. According to the California Department of Insurance, standard homeowners policies generally exclude earth movement, including landslide and mudflow, and NFIP flood insurance excludes earth movement and landslide, covering mudflow only as part of its definition of a flood. CDI also notes that if a wildfire (a covered peril) was the "efficient proximate cause" of a later mudflow or landslide, there may be coverage under a homeowners policy, and it advises filing a claim with your insurer first.CDI fact sheet: Flood, Mudflow, Mudslide, Landslide, or Sinkhole Losses After a Wildfire (opens in new tab)

Power Outages

Real-time outage maps from Southern California's three major electric utilities.

Southern California Edison

SCE Outage Map

Real-time power outage map and outage reporting for SCE's service territory across inland and coastal Southern California.

Coverage: SCE service territory (Southern California)

San Diego Gas & Electric

SDG&E Outage Map

Real-time power outage map for SDG&E's San Diego and southern Orange County service territory.

Coverage: San Diego County, southern Orange County

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

LADWP Power Outage Map

Real-time, color-coded power outage map for the City of Los Angeles, plus outage reporting.

Coverage: City of Los Angeles

Roads & Public Health

Live road closures across LA and Orange County, plus air-quality, water, and other environmental health guidance during and after a storm.

Los Angeles County Public Works / Caltrans (Sigalert)
Screenshot of the Sigalert road closures map showing closed roads across the Los Angeles and Orange County region.

Road Closures (LA & Orange County)

Live road closure listings for Los Angeles County, plus a real-time Sigalert map covering closures across LA and Orange County during active storms.

Coverage: LA County, Orange County

California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
OEHHA logo.

OEHHA Emergency Response Resources

Health guidance and environmental risk information covering air quality, water and seafood safety, and other health risks before, during, and after disasters.

Coverage: Statewide (California)

Screenshots above show real, unmodified output from each tool for a specific Southern California location, captured September 15, 2026, using realistic storm-season inputs (such as the ~1 ft sea level rise associated with this winter's El Niño projections), not worst-case scenarios. They illustrate what each tool looks like in use, not a general or current assessment of risk for your address. Tool outputs change over time; use the live tool directly for current, location-specific results.

Report a Hazard

See a downed line, a flooded street, or storm damage that needs attention? These city and county apps route reports directly to public works.

City of Los Angeles

MyLA311

Report downed trees, flooding, potholes, and other non-emergency hazards to the City of Los Angeles.

San Diego County

Tell Us Now

Report storm-related issues in unincorporated San Diego County before, during, and after a storm.

LA County Public Works

Emergency Hotline

Report flooding, road problems, and sewer incidents to LA County Public Works, 24/7.

Call (800) 675-4357

For mudflow or debris-flow concerns, the county has pointed residents to (800) 933-0930 to speak with a Public Works engineer (opens in new tab) about mudflow alerts (LA County Public Works (opens in new tab)).People seeking assistance for someone experiencing homelessness can call 2-1-1.

We couldn't confirm a unified hazard-reporting app for Orange County — check your city's public works department directly. For downed power lines specifically, always call 911 first; see the downed power line safety guidance on the Prep page.
Not winter storm hazards

Other hazards the lookup may flag

Cal OES MyHazards also reports earthquake, fire, and tsunami hazards. These aren't winter storm hazards, but they may come up when you check your address. If one did, here's what the responsible agencies say.

Earthquake

California maps liquefaction, earthquake-induced landslide, and fault rupture zones by address. The type of liquefaction California maps is triggered by earthquake shaking, not rain, and its zones are mapped assuming historically high groundwater levels, so a wet El Niño winter doesn't change your mapped zone.

Liquefaction

USGS describes liquefaction as saturated sand and silt taking on the characteristics of a liquid during the intense shaking of an earthquake. It's triggered by ground shaking, not rain — the earthquake-triggered liquefaction that California maps. Those zones are mapped statewide by the California Geological Survey.

Insurance note. According to the California Department of Insurance, standard homeowners policies and NFIP flood insurance both list earth movement and earthquake among their exclusions. Earthquake insurance is sold separately, for example through the California Earthquake Authority, whose sample homeowners policy defines "earthquake" to include liquefaction.CDI fact sheet (exclusions) (opens in new tab)California Earthquake Authority sample homeowners policy (opens in new tab)

Earthquake Fault Zones

The California Geological Survey describes Alquist-Priolo earthquake fault zones as regulatory zones around the surface traces of active faults, where a structure for human occupancy cannot be placed over the fault and generally must be at least fifty feet from it. Sellers must disclose to prospective buyers when an earthquake fault zone affects the property. To learn more about a specific property, CGS suggests asking the owner or real estate agent for any geologic report prepared for the site, checking local government files for reports on nearby sites, or hiring a licensed geologist for a preliminary assessment of the fault-rupture hazard.

Earthquake-Induced Landslide Zones

The California Geological Survey maps Seismic Hazard Zones for areas prone to liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides; CGS notes that landslides tend to occur in weak soil and rock on sloping terrain. State law requires site-specific geotechnical investigations before most new development designed for human occupancy in these zones, though single-family wood-frame homes up to two stories that aren't part of a development of four or more units are exempt from the state requirements, and local agencies can be stricter. Sellers must disclose to prospective buyers if a property lies within a mapped Seismic Hazard Zone.

Fire

Wildfire

CAL FIRE's Office of the State Fire Marshal classifies Fire Hazard Severity Zones as Moderate, High, or Very High, and notes that the maps evaluate "hazard," not "risk": expected fire behavior over a 30- to 50-year period, without considering mitigation such as home hardening or fuel reduction. The State Fire Marshal says that creating and maintaining defensible space and hardening your home with ignition-resistant or noncombustible materials "will dramatically increase your safety and the survivability of your home."

How a wet winter can feed the next fire season →

Tsunami

Tsunami

The California Geological Survey says strong ground shaking from an earthquake is the natural warning that a tsunami might be coming, along with the ocean quickly receding or an unusually loud roar from the ocean, and that if you are on the beach or in a harbor and feel an earthquake, you should immediately move inland or go to high ground. CGS also advises knowing whether you are in a potential tsunami zone and the evacuation routes for your area, and contacting your city or county about its evacuation plan. The National Weather Service says not to wait for an official warning after natural signs, and to stay out of the hazard zone until local officials say it's safe, because "the first wave may not be the last or the largest."

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