Parcel Risk Report

Flood risk in and around Novato, Marin 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 Novato rate, and how to check one address.

13 of 17

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

Census tracts intersecting Novato	17
… rated Relatively High or Very High for flood (riverine or coastal)	13

That puts parts of the Novato 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 Novato

Riverine flood — Very High	7
Riverine flood — Relatively High	4
Coastal flood — Very High	2
Coastal flood — Relatively High	3

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 13 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 Novato address

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

Open the free Beyond-FEMA checker → · See all of Marin 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 Novato (Marin County, state-county FIPS 06041).
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 Novato" 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).

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