Residential homebuyers are given many disclosures from the seller at time of purchase, including one called the NHD, or Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement.

The NHD law was created in 1999 by the California Legislature Civil Code Section 1103 to ensure that homebuyers know whether the property they are purchasing is located in one of six fire, flood or earthquake zones.

Location in one or more of these hazard zones might limit the ability to develop the property, obtain insurance, or to receive assistance after a disaster, and homebuyers have a three-day right to cancel a purchase after receiving the NHD.

ASpecial Flood Hazard Zone is one mapped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA as an area where all or a portion of the property has a 1% chance each year of being chance each year of being inundated by flood waters. Flood insurance may be required by lenders and could be costly to obtain.

We rarely see this zone in our area. ADam Inundation Zone is designated by the Office of Emergency Services as an area of potential inundation and flooding that could result from a dam failure. We have many dams in the local mountains and this zone comes up quite frequently even in neighborhoods far removed from the foothills.

The Very High Fire Severity Zone has been determined by the CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to have potential risk based on the severity of expected fire hazards due to terrain, fire weather conditions and other relevant factors in the area.

Fire Insurance premiums could be significantly higher for properties in this zone, and we are seeing some California insurance carriers refuse to write new policies even when the current property owner has an existing policy in place.

The Wildland Fire Zone maps an area of substantial fire risk where mandatory fire prevention measures such as maintaining firebreaks would be required. Insurance policies may only be available through the CA Fair Plan.

Earthquake Fault Zones are areas of approximately 1/4 mile in width along a known active earthquake fault as defined by the Alquist- Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act. Seismic Hazard Zones are areas not along a mapped fault, but which could experience strong ground shaking, liquefaction (failure of watersaturated soil) or landslides, in the event of an earthquake. Earthquake insurance will not be required by the insurance carrier or lender, but is highly recommended.

Adriana Donofrio • deasypennerpodley

Glendora (626) 926-9700 • adonofrio@dppre.com