East Palo Alto, CA— fire, flood & earthquake hazard information
East Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering about 2.5 square miles. This page summarizes what official government maps show for East Palo Alto: CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zones, FEMA flood zones, state seismic hazard zones, dam inundation areas, airport noise contours, and air-quality indicators. Figures are the share of East Palo Alto’s area that falls inside each mapped zone.
View East Palo Alto on the interactive map → to check any specific address, free.
Wildfire hazard severity zones
CAL FIRE's current Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps do not designate any zones within East Palo Alto. Individual properties near the boundary can still fall inside a neighboring zone — check the exact address on the map.
FEMA flood zones
43% of East Palo Alto lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 4% is in a coastal high hazard zone (V/VE); 9% is in the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) area. Federally backed mortgages in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance.
| Special Flood Hazard Area (100-yr) | 43% |
| Coastal high hazard (V/VE) | 4% |
| 0.2% annual chance (500-yr) | 9% |
Earthquake faults & seismic zones
The nearest mapped fault, the San Jose fault, is about 1.0 mi (1.6 km) from the center of East Palo Alto. 1 named fault trace in the USGS Quaternary fault database cross its boundary. 91% of its area is in a state-designated liquefaction zone of required investigation.
| Nearest mapped fault | San Jose fault — 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
| Named fault traces crossing boundary | 1 |
| Liquefaction zone | 91% |
Dam inundation, aircraft noise & air quality
5% of East Palo Alto lies within a state-reviewed dam-failure inundation area; 10% is inside an airport noise contour of 65 dB CNEL or louder; annual average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration across its census tracts is 8.3 μg/m³, and its composite pollution burden ranks around the 75th percentile statewide.
| Dam-failure inundation area | 5% |
| Airport noise ≥65 dB CNEL | 10% |
| Annual PM2.5 (tract average) | 8.3 μg/m³ |
| Pollution burden percentile (statewide) | ~75 |
Frequently asked questions
- Is East Palo Alto in a wildfire hazard severity zone?
- CAL FIRE's current Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps do not designate any zones within East Palo Alto. Individual properties near the boundary can still fall inside a neighboring zone — check the exact address on the map.
- Is East Palo Alto in a FEMA flood zone?
- 43% of East Palo Alto lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 4% is in a coastal high hazard zone (V/VE); 9% is in the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) area. Federally backed mortgages in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance.
- What earthquake faults and seismic zones affect East Palo Alto?
- The nearest mapped fault, the San Jose fault, is about 1.0 mi (1.6 km) from the center of East Palo Alto. 1 named fault trace in the USGS Quaternary fault database cross its boundary. 91% of its area is in a state-designated liquefaction zone of required investigation.
- How do I check a specific address in East Palo Alto?
- Use the free sitelume interactive map at https://sitelume.com — search any East Palo Alto address to see which mapped zones it falls in, layer by layer.
Nearby in San Mateo County
Sources: CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer; USGS Quaternary Faults; CGS Seismic Hazard Zones & Alquist-Priolo zones; Cal OES dam inundation maps; county ALUC noise contours; CalEnviroScreen 4.0. Area shares are computed against each place’s Census TIGER boundary (last computed 2026-07-24). Boundaries and zone designations change; always verify with the issuing agency.