Santa Clara, CA— fire, flood & earthquake hazard information
Santa Clara is a city in Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering about 18.3 square miles. This page summarizes what official government maps show for Santa Clara: 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 Santa Clara’s area that falls inside each mapped zone.
View Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara. Individual properties near the boundary can still fall inside a neighboring zone — check the exact address on the map.
FEMA flood zones
8% of Santa Clara lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 59% 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) | 8% |
| 0.2% annual chance (500-yr) | 59% |
Earthquake faults & seismic zones
The nearest mapped fault, the San Jose fault, is about 1.7 mi (2.7 km) from the center of Santa Clara. 2 named fault traces 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 — 1.7 mi (2.7 km) |
| Named fault traces crossing boundary | 2 |
| Liquefaction zone | 91% |
Dam inundation, aircraft noise & air quality
49% of Santa Clara lies within a state-reviewed dam-failure inundation area; 8% is inside an airport noise contour of 65 dB CNEL or louder; annual average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration across its census tracts is 8.4 μg/m³, and its composite pollution burden ranks around the 61th percentile statewide.
| Dam-failure inundation area | 49% |
| Airport noise ≥65 dB CNEL | 8% |
| Annual PM2.5 (tract average) | 8.4 μg/m³ |
| Pollution burden percentile (statewide) | ~61 |
Frequently asked questions
- Is Santa Clara in a wildfire hazard severity zone?
- CAL FIRE's current Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps do not designate any zones within Santa Clara. Individual properties near the boundary can still fall inside a neighboring zone — check the exact address on the map.
- Is Santa Clara in a FEMA flood zone?
- 8% of Santa Clara lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 59% 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 Santa Clara?
- The nearest mapped fault, the San Jose fault, is about 1.7 mi (2.7 km) from the center of Santa Clara. 2 named fault traces 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 Santa Clara?
- Use the free sitelume interactive map at https://sitelume.com — search any Santa Clara address to see which mapped zones it falls in, layer by layer.
Nearby in Santa Clara 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.