The Worst Weather Disasters In California History

For millions of Californians, 2025 was a year marred by devastating natural disasters. The Palisades and Eaton Fires, which broke out only a week into the year, consumed tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles County, destroying over 16,200 homes and businesses, resulting in 31 deaths, and causing an estimated economic loss of over $250 billion. And that was months before the state’s wildfire season even began. By December 31, 2025, more than 800 additional wildfires had consumed nearly another half million acres across California. 

The toll that extreme weather took on California in 2025 was by no means limited to wildfires. Most recently, an atmospheric river dumped a historic volume of rain across large swaths of southern California, including LA County. The resulting flooding and landslides closed off major roads, inundated homes and businesses, damaged public infrastructure, and resulted in at least four deaths. The total estimated cost of the flood damage has yet to be released. 

While 2025 was a trying year for California – Los Angeles in particular – devastating natural disasters have long been relatively common in the state. Between 1980 and 2024, the U.S. was hit by 312 drought, flooding, freezing, severe storm, and wildfire events that resulted in at least $1 billion in damage – and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, nearly 15% of these events impacted California.

Major natural disasters in California have also become increasingly common in recent decades. The state was impacted by two separate billion-dollar disasters in the 1980s, nine in the 1990s, 13 in the 2000s, and 14 in the 2010s. More recently, over the four year period from 2020 to 2023, a total of eight billion-dollar disasters impacted the state. As was on full display in 2025, flooding and wildfires are the two most costly natural disasters for California, cumulatively accounting for 77% of all damages from major, severe weather events since 1980. 

Using data from NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters program, Climate Crisis 247 identified the most devastating wildfires and floods to hit California. Only flood and wildfire events that took place between 1980 and 2024 and resulted in at least $1 billion in damage were considered. Total damage and fatalities linked to these events may include those reported in other states. Importantly, however, events that impacted California were excluded if the bulk of damages were reported in other parts of the country. Supplemental data on river and reservoir volumes resulting from flooding events are from NOAA reports, and data on total acreage burned by wildfire events are from The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 

Total damages resulting from the 10 flooding and wildfire events on this list range from $3.7 to $30.0 billion, adjusted for inflation. Cumulatively, these same events directly resulted in nearly 350 deaths. A further indication that major natural disasters are becoming both more frequent and more intense in California, most events on this list took place within the last 10 years. 

10. Atmospheric River Flooding 2022-2023 (Dec. 2022 – March-2023)

• Total damages: $4.7 billion, adj. for inflation ($4.5 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 22
• Reservoir volume relative to average storage levels: Pine Flat Reservoir (137% capacity), Oroville Reservoir (116% capacity), Don Pedro Reservoir (115% capacity)

9. California Floods of 1995 (Jan. – March 1995)

• Total damages: $5.3 billion, adj. for inflation ($2.5 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 27
• Rivers reporting historic flooding: Salinas River (approx. 100% higher than prev. record), Carmel River (27.6% higher than prev. record), Guadalupe River (14.8% higher than prev. record)

8. 2019 California Wildfires (June – Nov. 2019)

• Total damages: $5.5 billion, adj. for inflation ($4.5 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 3
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: Kincade Fire (77,758 acres burned), Walker Fire (54,612 acres burned), Tucker Fire (14,217 acres burned)

7. 1997 California New Years Floods (January 1997)

• Total damages: $6.0 billion, adj. for inflation ($3.0 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 36
• Rivers reporting historic flooding: South Fork American River (40.6% higher than prev. record), Cosumnes River (3.9% higher than prev. record), Napa River (in-line with prev. record)

6. Fire Siege of 2003 (Sept. – Nov. 2003)

• Total damages: $6.6 billion, adj. for inflation ($3.9 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 22
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: Cedar Fire (273,246 acres burned), Simi Fire (108,204 acres burned), Old Fire (91,281 acres burned)

5. Oakland Hills Firestorm (October 1991)

• Total damages: $7.6 billion, adj. for inflation ($3.3 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 25
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: Oakland Hills Firestorm (1,500 acres burned) 

4. 2021 California Wildfires (June – Dec. 2021)

• Total damages: $12.1 billion, adj. for inflation ($10.4 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 8
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: Dixie Fire (963,309 acres burned), Monument Fire (223,124 acres burned), Caldor Fire (221,835 acres burned)

3. California Firestorm of 2020 (Aug. – Dec. 2020)

• Total damages: $19.9 billion, adj. for inflation ($16.5 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 46
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: August Complex fire (1,032,648 acres burned), SCU Lightning Complex fire (396,624 acres burned), Creek Fire (379,895 acres burned)

2. North Bay Fires of 2017 (June – Dec. 2017)

• Total damages: $23.2 billion, adj. for inflation ($18.0 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 54
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: Thomas Fire (281,893 acres burned), Chetco Fire (191,125 acres burned), Long Valley Fire (83,733 acres burned)

1. California Firestorm of 2018 (June – Dec. 2018)

• Total damages: $30.0 billion, adj. for inflation ($24.0 billion unadjusted)
• Total deaths: 106
• Most destructive fire(s) associated with incident include: Mendocino Complex Fire (410,203 acres burned), Carr Fire (229,651 acres burned), Camp Fire (153,336 acres burned)