Foster City, CA— fire, flood & earthquake hazard information
Foster City is a city in San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering about 3.8 square miles. This page summarizes what official government maps show for Foster City: 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 Foster City’s area that falls inside each mapped zone.
View Foster City 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 Foster City. Individual properties near the boundary can still fall inside a neighboring zone — check the exact address on the map.
FEMA flood zones
4% of Foster City lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 7% is in a coastal high hazard zone (V/VE). Federally backed mortgages in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance.
| Special Flood Hazard Area (100-yr) | 4% |
| Coastal high hazard (V/VE) | 7% |
Earthquake faults & seismic zones
The nearest mapped fault, the San Jose fault, is about 2.0 mi (3.2 km) from the center of Foster City. 19% of its area is in a state-designated liquefaction zone of required investigation.
| Nearest mapped fault | San Jose fault — 2.0 mi (3.2 km) |
| Liquefaction zone | 19% |
Dam inundation, aircraft noise & air quality
34% of Foster City lies within a state-reviewed dam-failure inundation area; less than 1% is inside an airport noise contour of 65 dB CNEL or louder; annual average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration across its census tracts is 8.6 μg/m³, and its composite pollution burden ranks around the 29th percentile statewide.
| Dam-failure inundation area | 34% |
| Airport noise ≥65 dB CNEL | less than 1% |
| Annual PM2.5 (tract average) | 8.6 μg/m³ |
| Pollution burden percentile (statewide) | ~29 |
Frequently asked questions
- Is Foster City in a wildfire hazard severity zone?
- CAL FIRE's current Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps do not designate any zones within Foster City. Individual properties near the boundary can still fall inside a neighboring zone — check the exact address on the map.
- Is Foster City in a FEMA flood zone?
- 4% of Foster City lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 7% is in a coastal high hazard zone (V/VE). Federally backed mortgages in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance.
- What earthquake faults and seismic zones affect Foster City?
- The nearest mapped fault, the San Jose fault, is about 2.0 mi (3.2 km) from the center of Foster City. 19% of its area is in a state-designated liquefaction zone of required investigation.
- How do I check a specific address in Foster City?
- Use the free sitelume interactive map at https://sitelume.com — search any Foster City 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.