Parcel Risk Report

Flood risk in and around Atwater, Merced County

FEMA's official flood map draws the 1%-annual-chance floodplain. FEMA's National Risk Index adds a comparative flood-risk rating for every census tract — a broader, neighborhood-scale measure. Here's how the tracts in and around Atwater rate, and how to check one address.

3 of 10

census tracts in and around Atwater are rated Relatively High or Very High for riverine or coastal flood risk by FEMA's National Risk Index.

Census tracts intersecting Atwater	10
… rated Relatively High or Very High for flood (riverine or coastal)	3

That puts parts of the Atwater area among the higher-rated neighborhoods in FEMA's national flood-risk comparison. The National Risk Index rating is a comparative, composite measure (it reflects expected losses and community vulnerability, not just the mapped floodplain), so it complements the official FEMA flood map rather than contradicting it — check a specific address to see the map's call for one property. These are tract-level ratings (neighborhood scale), not parcel-precise and not a count of homes.

Flood-rating breakdown for Atwater

Riverine flood — Relatively High

FEMA rates riverine and coastal flood separately, so one tract can appear in two rows — these rows can therefore add up to more than the 3 elevated tracts above (a tract is "elevated" if either rating is Relatively High or Very High). Categorical classes from FEMA's National Risk Index — never a proprietary score.

Check a specific Atwater address

City figures are a starting point. To see what the official FEMA flood map will say for one property in Atwater — side by side with these cited federal & state sources — run the free per-address check:

Open the free Beyond-FEMA checker → · See all of Merced County →

How this figure is derived (and what it is not)

Counts come from FEMA's National Risk Index census-tract layer, limited to the tracts that intersect the U.S. Census Bureau 2020 boundary of Atwater (Merced County, state-county FIPS 06047).
A tract is counted when its riverine or coastal flood rating is "Relatively High" or "Very High" — FEMA's own comparative categorical classes, never a proprietary score, never a per-parcel prediction.
We say "in and around Atwater" on purpose: census tracts don't line up with city limits, so a tract is included if it touches the boundary — and for a small city, many counted tracts may extend well beyond its limits. Read the figure as the surrounding neighborhood, not the city alone. It is a tract count, not a homes count, and not parcel-precise.
Ratings: FEMA National Risk Index (https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/). City boundary: U.S. Census 2020 incorporated places (census.gov). Both update rarely; data retrieved 2026-06-02.
This is general public-data information — not a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement, and it does not satisfy California Civil Code §1103.2 (the seller's statutory disclosure in a sale).

Other cities in Merced County

Dos Palos · Gustine · Livingston · Los Banos · Merced