GeraSure / County Hazard Risk / Imperial, CA
Imperial County, California: Natural Hazard Risk
Gera County Hazard Score: 97.6/100 (Very High) · FEMA Rating: Relatively High · Population: 179,319. Based on FEMA National Risk Index (November 2023).
What is the natural hazard risk for Imperial County, California?
Imperial County, California has a Gera County Hazard Score (GCHS) of 97.6/100 (Very High), based on FEMA National Risk Index November 2023 data. Its Expected Annual Loss rank is 96.8/100, social vulnerability rank 99.5/100 and community resilience rank 3.2/100, covering a population of 179,319.
GCHS components — Imperial County (November 2023)
| Component | Score / 100 | GCHS Weight | Contribution | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expected Annual Loss (EAL) | 96.8 | 50% | 48.4 | Estimated annual losses from 18 natural hazards |
| Social Vulnerability (SOVI) | 99.5 | 30% | 29.8 | Community factors affecting disaster response capacity |
| Lack of Resilience (100 − RESL) | 97 | 20% | 19.4 | Resilience score 3.2/100 → inverted so higher = more hazard |
| Gera County Hazard Score (GCHS) | 97.6 | 100% | 97.6 | Very High — composite index |
GCHS = 0.50 × 96.8 + 0.30 × 99.5 + 0.20 × (100 − 3.2) = 97.6. All inputs are FEMA NRI percentile ranks 0–100.
Imperial County Hazard Checker
Explore what the GCHS means for insurance and disaster preparedness in this county.
Gera County Hazard Score (GCHS)
What this means for insurance
Counties with a Very High GCHS typically see elevated home insurance premiums and may have limited coverage availability for specific hazard types. Comparing quotes is especially important here.
GCHS is computed by Gera from FEMA NRI data. It is a risk-context index — not an insurance premium quote. Actual premiums depend on your specific property and chosen coverage.
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Imperial County hazard risk: frequently asked questions
- What does a GCHS of 97.6/100 mean for Imperial County?
- A GCHS of 97.6/100 places Imperial County in the "Very High" band. Counties in this band typically face elevated natural hazard losses and may have restricted insurance availability or higher premiums for hazard-specific coverage. Key risk drivers include the county's Expected Annual Loss rank (96.8/100) and Social Vulnerability rank (99.5/100).
- Which natural hazards most affect Imperial County?
- The GCHS is computed from FEMA's Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score, which aggregates 18 natural hazard types: hurricanes, riverine flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, hail, drought, winter weather, lightning, strong wind, coastal flooding, cold wave, heat wave, ice storm, landslide, avalanche, tsunami and volcanic activity. Imperial County's EAL rank is 96.8/100 — very high, suggesting substantial exposure to one or more of these hazards.
- What is the FEMA National Risk Index?
- The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) is a publicly available dataset produced by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency that measures the risk of natural hazards for every US county and census tract. It combines 18 natural hazard types, community social vulnerability and community resilience into a single expected-loss-based risk score. Gera computes the GCHS from the NRI's county-level EAL, SOVI and RESL percentile scores using a documented formula.
- How does Imperial County compare to the national average?
- The national mean GCHS across the 480 most-populous US counties is 66.1/100. Imperial County scores 97.6/100, which is 31.5 points above the national mean. FEMA's own risk rating for this county is "Relatively High".
Other CA counties
All counties →Contains public sector information published by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and licensed under the US Government open data, public domain. Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) — Harvard Dataverse (November 2023, published 2024).
Full GCHS formula and verification: Gera County Hazard Score methodology.