The California Office of Emergency Services has compiled two lists of disasters affecting the State, including the San Francisco Bay Area - one for the period from 1950 - 1999, and a second for more recent disasters. The following list of 59 disasters affecting all or part of the nine-county Bay Area during that 57-year period is extracted from those lists (of 188 disasters statewide). All but seven of these disasters are caused by natural hazards, for an average of almost one natural disaster affecting all or part of the San Francisco Bay Area every year.

11/50
Floods
Declared: statewide CA OCD 50-01(11/21/50)
Federal: not declared
9 deaths
Damage: Sacramento River Basin above Delta-$4,983,000; Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta-$4,550,000; San Joaquin River Basin-Consumnes River to Upper San Joaquin River-$11,460,000; Upper San Joaquin River Basin-Kings River to Kern River-$11,190,000; TOTAL-$32,183,000

12/55
Floods
Declared: statewide CD 47-DR-CA (12/22/55)
Federal: 12/23/55
74 deaths
Damage: $200 million

5/57
Unseasonal and Heavy Rainfall
Declared: State of Emergency-cherry producing areas of Northern California (requested by Department of Agriculture) 5/20/57
Federal: not declared
no deaths, 2 injuries
Damage: $6 million in agricultural losses

2/58
Storm And Flood Damage
Declared: Northern California (Southern boundaries of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Alpine Counties to the Oregon border) CDO 58-03 (2/26/58)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not available

4/58
Storm and Flood Damage
Declared: statewide (4/2/58)
Federal: 82 (4/4/58)
13 deaths, several injuries
Damage: $20 million, plus $4 million agricultural

9/59
Unseasonal and Heavy Rainfall
Declared: Tokay grape producing areas of Northern California (requested by Dept. of Agriculture) (9/19/59)
Federal: not declared
2 deaths
Damage: $100,000

9/61
Widespread Fires
Declared: Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Napa, Nevada, Placer, San Diego, Sonoma, Tehama (9/8/61)
Federal: not declared
Damage: public-$243,000; private-$4,183,098; watershed-$1,270,715; TOTAL-$5,696,813

9/62
Fires and Explosions
Declared: City of San Leandro (Alameda County) (9/14/62)
Federal: not declared
1 death, 12 injuries
Damage: $500,000

Fall '62
Flood and Rainstorms
Declared: Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Modoc, Napa, San Mateo, Sierra, Sutter, Yuba (10/17/62), Placer (10/25/62), Trinity (10/30/62), Lassen (11/4/62)
Federal: 138 (10/24/62) amended to include Placer, Trinity, and Lassen Counties
Damage: $4 million+

2/63
Abnormally Heavy and Continuous Rainfall
Declared: Northern California (boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties to the Oregon State line) (2/14/64)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not available

2/63
Flood and Rainstorms
Declared: Alpine, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra (2/7/63), Amador, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Lassen, Tehama, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Yolo, Tulare (2/26/63), Mono, Trinity (2/29/63), Yuba (4/22/63)
Federal: 145 (2/25/63), amended 1/30/63 to include Orange County and Redondo Beach
Damage: not available

9/64
Major and Widespread Fires and Excessively High Winds
Declared: Napa (9/22/64), Sonoma (9/23/64), Santa Barbara (9/25/64)
Federal: not declared
Damage: private-$3.5 million; watershed-$13 million; TOTAL-$16.5 million
Note: By special appropriation, Congress approved $860,000 for Santa Barbara County. The USDA, through Forest Service programs, spent $1.044 million for seeding and reestablishing dams in these counties.

9/64
Tsunami Caused by March 1964 Earthquake in Alaska
Declared: Marin (9/15/64) (Tax Relief)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not applicable, only costs were for mitigation

Winter '64-'65
1964 Late Winter Storms
Abnormally heavy and continuous rainfall and windstorm Declared: OEP 183-DR-CA Del Norte, Humboldt, Shasta, Mendocino (12/22/64), Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity (12/23/64), Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Yuba (12/28/64), Alpine, Lake, Sacramento, Yolo (1/5/65), Marin (1/14/65)
Federal: 12/29/64
Damage: public-$85.327 million; private-$127.822 million; TOTAL-$213.149 million

9/65
Major and Widespread Fires
Declared: Marin, Napa, Placer, Solano, Sonoma (9/18/65)
Federal: not declared
no deaths
Damage: not available; 113,766 acres and 41 bldgs. Destroyed

9/66
Riots
Declared: San Francisco (9/27/66)
Federal: not declared
no deaths, 42 injuries
Damage: not available

12/66
Earthslides
Declared: Redwood City (San Mateo County) (12/16/66)
Federal: not declared
Damage: private-$100,000

8/68
Riots and Other Conditions
Declared: City of Richmond (Contra Costa) (8/2/68)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not applicable (worker strike)

Winter '69
1969 Storms
Storms, flooding
Declared: OEP 253-DR-CA Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo (1/23/69), Fresno, Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Ventura (1/25/69), Amador, El Dorado, Kern, Kings, Madera, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus, Tuolumne (1/28/69), Mariposa, Merced (1/29/69), Calaveras, San Benito, Sierra (2/8/69), Contra Costa, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma (2/10/69), Plumas, Tehama, Yuba (2/16/69), Butte, Marin, Yolo (3/12/69)
Federal: 1/26/69
47 dead, 161 injured
Damage: public-$185 million; private-$115 million; TOTAL-$300 million

12/69
Riots
Declared: City of Berkeley (Alameda County) (2/5/69)
Federal: not declared
no deaths, 20 injuries
Damage: not available

Winter '70
Northern California Flooding
Heavy Winds, Storms, Flooding
Declared: OEP 283-DR-CA Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity (1/27/70), Sutter, Yuba (2/3/70), Del Norte (2/10/70), Alameda, El Dorado, Mendocino (3/2/70)
Federal: 2/16/70
Damage: public-$19,659,078; private-$7,998,400; TOTAL-$27,657,478

2/10/70
Slide Damage Caused by Heavy Rains and Storms
Declared: City of Oakland (Alameda County) 2/10/70 (Tax Relief)
Federal: not declared
Damage: $11.5 million

3/70 (beginning)
Freezing Conditions
Declared: Ag. area of Napa (5/1/70), Ag. area of Sonoma (5/19/70), Ag. area of Mendocino (6/8/70), Ag. community of San Joaquin (6/10/70), Ag. community of Lake (7/24/70)
Federal: not declared
Damage: Agricultural loss $19,749,200

4/70
Storms And Floods
Declared: Contra Costa (4/10/70) (Tax Relief)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not available

Fall '70
Statewide Fires
Declared: OEP 295-DR-CA City of Oakland (Alameda County 9/24/70), Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego (9/28/70), Kern (10/1/70), San Bernardino (10/2/70), Monterey, Riverside (10/20/70), San Bernardino (11/14/70)
Federal: 9/29/70 amended 11/25/70 to include San Bernardino
19 deaths
Damage: public-$52,862,000; watershed-$24,826,000; private-$145,923,000 TOTAL-$223,611,000; 576,508 acres, 722 bldgs. San Bernardino-53,100 acres, 54 bldgs.

Spring '72
Freeze and Severe Weather Conditions
Declared: Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Merced, Kern, Madera, San Benito, Stanislaus, El Dorado, Tehama, Placer, Nevada, San Joaquin (4/17/72), Colusa (5/22/72), Siskiyou, Modoc (5/22/72), Santa Clara (5/31/72)
Federal: not declared
Damage: crop loss-$111,517,2604/10/72

Drought Conditions
Declared: Glenn, San Benito, Santa Clara (7/3/73)
Federal: not declared
Damage: agricultural loss-$8 million

1/73
Coastal Flooding
Heavy rains, winds, floods, and tidal action
Declared: OEP 364-DR-CA Marin, San Luis Obispo (1/23/73), City of South San Francisco (San Mateo County 1/30/73), Santa Barbara, Solano (2/8/73), Ventura (2/28/73)
Federal: 2/3/73
Damage: public-$5,291,350; private-$12,706,900; TOTAL-$17,998,250

2/73
Storms And Floods
Declared: Colusa, Glenn, Napa, Placer, Sutter, Yuba (2/28/73)
Federal: not declared
Damage: public-$1.357 million; private-$507,000; TOTAL-$1.864 million

4/73
Storms and Floods
Declared: City of Pacifica-San Mateo (4/11/73) (Tax Relief)
Federal: not declared
Damage: public-$450,000; private-$250,000; TOTAL-$700,000

5/73
Eucalyptus Tree Freeze
Declared: Alameda, Contra Costa (4/4/73)
Federal: 5/25/73
Damage: removal of approx. 2 million dead trees-$8-10 million

3/74
Gasoline Purchasing Problems
Declared: Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Mateo, Solano (2/28/74), Santa Clara (3/4/74), Ventura (3/10/74)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not applicable

1976
Drought
Declared: Alpine, Calaveras, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Madera, Merced, San Diego, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tuolumne (2/9/76), Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Kings, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Tulare, Yolo (2/13/76), Amador, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, San Benito, San Bernardino, Tehama (2/24/76), San Mateo (3/26/76), Marin (7/6/76)
Federal: not declared
Damage: 1976-$888.5 million; 1977-$1.775 billion; TOTAL-$2.664 billion

1979
Gasoline Shortage Emergency
Declared: Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Ventura, San Bernardino (11/13/79), San Bernardino (amending boundaries 9/29/79), Monterey (7/13/79), San Bernardino (7/13/79), Riverside (6/22/79), San Bernardino (6/7/79), Monterey (6/7/79), Riverside, (amending boundaries 5/18/79), Monterey, Riverside (portion) (5/11/79), San Mateo, Santa Cruz (5/9/79), San Bernardino (portion 5/8/79), Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Sonoma, Orange, Santa Clara, Ventura (5/8/79)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not applicable

1/80
Delta Levee Break
Rain, high tides, strong winds, and flooding (Holland and Webb Levee breaks)
Declared: FEMA 3078-EM-CA Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin (1/23/80)
Federal: 1/23/80
Damage: public-$11,158,700; private-$1,479,500; agricultural-$3,887,195; TOTAL-$17,388,013

3/80
Storms
Rain, winds, mud slides, and flooding
Declared: Stanislaus, Monterey, Solano, Santa Cruz (3/5/80)
Federal: not declared
Damage: *include figures from 2/82. public-$164,990,642; private-$75,755,500; agricultural-$75,894,675; TOTAL-$316,640,817. These four counties proclaimed in Feb. 1982 but were not included in the Presidential declaration.

Summer '81
Mediterranean Fruit Fly Infestation
Declared: Contra Costa (9/25/81), Los Angeles (8/25/81), San Benito (8/25/81), Stanislaus (8/14/81), Santa Cruz (8/13/81), San Mateo (8/8/81)
Federal: not declared
Damage: $22 million

6/81
Atlas Peak Fire
Declared: Napa (6/24/81)
Federal: not declared
no deaths
Damage: private-$11 million; watershed-$20 million; TOTAL-$31 million; 23,000 acres burned, 69 structures destroyed

1/82
1982 Winter Storms
Heavy winds, rain, flooding, and mud slides
Declared: FEMA 651-DR-CA Alameda, Santa Clara, Solano, San Joaquin (1/9/82), Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sonoma (1/5/82)
Federal: 1/7/82
33 dead, 481 injured
Damage: public-$101.400 million; private-$172.450 million; TOTAL-$273.850 million; 256 homes and 41 businesses destroyed, 6259 homes and 1276 businesses damaged.

10/82
Rains Causing Agricultural Losses
Declared: Fresno, Madera, Merced, Monterey, Kern, Tulare, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Yolo (10/26/82)
Federal: not declared
Damage: agricultural $345,195,974

12/82
High Tides, Strong Winds, and Rains
Declared: Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin (12/8/82)
Federal: not declared
Damage: public-$5,313,198; private-$1,651,800; TOTAL-$6,964,998

Winter '82-'83
Winter Storms
Heavy rains, high winds, flooding, levee breaks
Declared: FEMA 682-DR--CA Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Sacramento (12/8/82), Marin, San Mateo, Los Angeles, San Diego (1/27/83), Alameda, Orange, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sonoma, Ventura, Trinity (1/31/83), Colusa, Lake, Mendocino, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Solano, Yolo (2/7/83), Butte, Glenn, Kern, Kings, San Bernardino, Sutter Tehama, Merced (3/3/83), Del Norte, Fresno, Madera, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Stanislaus, Tulare (3/15/83), Humboldt, Mariposa, Nevada, Yuba (3/21/83)
Federal 2/9/83
Damage: public-$151,185,870; private-$158,641,170; agricultural-$213,789,992; TOTAL-$523,617,032

12/83
Levee Failure, High Winds, High Tides, Floods, Storms, Wind Driven Water
Declared: Contra Costa (12/9/83), Alameda (1/18/84)
Federal: not declared
Damage: public-$7,240,785; private-$2.669 million; agricultural-$1 million; TOTAL-$10,909,785

4/84
Morgan Hill Earthquake
6.2M
Declared: Santa Clara
Federal: FEMA 4043-EM-CA (4/25//84
no deaths, 27 injuries
Damage: public-$365,000; business-$1.7 million; private-$5.2 million; TOTAL-$7.265 million

6/85
Statewide Fires
Declared: FEMA 739-DR-CA San Diego (7/1/85), City of Los Angeles (7/3/85), San Luis Obispo (7/8/85), Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz (7/9/85), Ventura (7/11/85)
Federal: 4/25/84
3 deaths, 470 injured (124 civilians, 346 firefighters)
Damage: public-$34,751,400; private-$30,094,464; TOTAL-$64,845,864; 375,000+ acres, 215 homes destroyed; 131 homes and businesses damaged; 71 miscellaneous structures and vehicles destroyed

2/86 (beginning)
Storms
Rains, winds, flooding, and mud slides
13 deaths, 67 injuries
Declared: FEMA 758-DR-CA Humboldt, Napa, Sonoma (2/18/86), Glenn, Lake, Marin, Modoc, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Yuba (2/19/86), Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Lassen, Mendocino, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, Sierra, Sutter, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo (2/20/86), Fresno, Madera, San Mateo (2/26/86), Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Trinity (3/4/86), Mono, San Benito, Shasta (3/12/86)
Federal: 2/18/86
Damage: public-$157,987,493; private-$249,551,411; TOTAL-$407,538,904; 12,447 homes damaged; 1,382 homes destroyed; 967 businesses damaged; 185 businesses destroyed

9/88
Fires (49er, Miller, and Fern)
Declared: FEMA 815-DR-CA Shasta, Solano (9/20/88, beginning 9/17/88), Yuba, Nevada (9/13/88, beginning 9/11/88)
Federal: 9/13/88
no deaths
Damage: public-$31,247,534; business-$2,533,100; private-$18,033,800; TOTAL-$31,247,534; 238 homes destroyed, 41 homes damaged; 29 businesses destroyed

8/89
Mediterranean Fruit Fly
Declared: Santa Clara (9/6/89)
Federal: not declared
Damage: not applicable-damage was avoided

10/89
Loma Prieta Earthquake
7.1M
Declared: FEMA 845-DR-CA Alameda, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco (10/18/89), Contra Costa, Marin, City of Isleton (10/23/89), City of Tracy, Solano (10/30/89)
Federal: 10/18/89
63 deaths, 3,757 injuries (10/18/89)
Damage: Alameda $1,479,104,500, Contra Costa $25 million, Monterey $108 million, San Benito $103.55 million, San Francisco $2 billion, San Mateo $292,941,001, Santa Clara $727.7 million, Santa Cruz $1.526 million, $500 million to $1 billion damage in roads and bridges, $20 million in state government buildings. Total: $5.9 billion; 23,408 homes damaged, 3,530 businesses damaged, 1,018 homes destroyed, 366 businesses destroyed.

12/90 (beginning)
Freeze
Declared: FEMA 894-DR-CA Santa Cruz (12/28/90), Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Mendocino, Monterey, Riverside, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Tulare, Ventura (1/11/91), Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba (1/18/91), Stanislaus, Tehama (2/14/91, beginning 12/19/90)
Federal: 2/11/91
Damage: public buildings-$2,330,353; utilities-$1,614,040; crop damage-$852,385,282; TOTAL-$856,329,675; 500 broken pipes, affecting 5,400 homes

10/91
East Bay Hills Fire
Declared: Alameda County, 10/20/91)
Federal: 919 (10/22/91)
25 deaths, 150 injuries
Damage: $1.7 billion; 3,354 family dwellings and 456 apartments destroyed

12/92
1992 Late Winter Storms
Snow, rain, and high winds
Declared: FEMA 979-DR-CA Alpine, Los Angels (2/19/93), Humboldt, Napa, Santa Barbara, Culver City and the City of Los Angeles (2/8/93, for event beginning 1/25/93), Contra Costa, Mendocino, Sonoma (1/25/93, for event beginning 1/25/93), Fresno, Imperial, Madera, Monterey, San Bernardino, Sierra, Tehama, Trinity, and Tulare (1/21/93, for event beginning 1/19/93), Modoc, Orange, Riverside (1/19/93, for event beginning 1/15/93), Lassen, Siskiyou (1/15/93, for event beginning 1/13/93), Plumas (1/13/93, for event beginning 1/12/93), San Diego (1/7/93, for event beginning 1/7/93)
Federal 1/15/93
20 deaths, 10 injuries
Damage: public property-$32,215, $600 million

1/95
Severe Winter Storms
Declared: FEMA 1044-DR-CA Los Angeles, Orange (1/6/95), Humboldt, Lake, Sonoma (1/9/95), Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Glenn, Kern, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Tehama, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba (1/10/95), Alpine, Amador, Nevada, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Shasta, Sutter, Trinity (1/11/95), San Diego (1/13/95), Alameda, Marin (1/14/95), Fresno, Kings (1/17/95), El Dorado (2/15/95), Madera, Solano (2/17/95), Siskiyou (3/14/95)
Federal-1044 (1/13/95)
11 deaths
Damage: public-$299.6 million; individual-$128.4 million; businesses $58.4 million; highways-$158 million; ag-$97 million; TOTAL-$741.4 million; damage to homes: major-1,883; minor-4, 179; destroyed-370.

2/95
Late Winter Storms
Declared: FEMA 1046-DR-CA 57 counties (all except Del Norte).
Federal: 1/10/95
17 deaths
Damage: public property-$190.6 million; individual-$122.4 million; business-$46.9 million; highways-$79 million; ag-$651.6 million; TOTAL-approximately $1.1 billion; damage to homes: major-1,322; minor-2,299; destroyed-267

12/96 to 1/97
January 1997 Floods
Declared: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba (1/2/97); Calaveras, Madera, Mono, Monterey, Placer, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Yolo (1/3/97); Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Tulare (1/5/97); Mariposa (1/6/97); Merced, Santa Clara (1/10/97); Alameda, San Francisco (1/19/97); Kings, San Luis Obispo (1/31/97).
Federal: all 48 counties listed above
8 deaths
Damage: $1.8 billion
Add: 300 square miles of land flooded; 23,000 homes, 2,000 busineses damaged or destroyed.

2/2/98
El Nino
Declared: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba.
Federal: All above except Kings and Siskiyou counties
17 deaths
Damage: $550 million

9/3/00
Napa Earthquake - DR 1342
Declared: Napa
Damage: estimated at $15 to $70 million (source: EERI Reconnaissance Report)

6/3/04
San Joaquin Levee Break (Upper Jones Tract) - DR 1529
Declared: (Outside of Bay Area - provided due to indirect impacts to Bay Area)
Damage: estimated at $121 to $125 million (source: San Joaquin Co. Office of Emergency Services)

12/17/05 - 1/12/06
2005/06 Winter Storms - DR 1628
Declared: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Solano, Sonoma
Damage: not available at this time

3/29/06-4/16/06
2006 Spring Storms - DR 1644
Declared: Alameda, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Sonoma
Damage: not available at this time