States › Washington › Pierce County

Pierce County, Washington

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 53053 · 925,708 residents (2021) · 1,668 sq mi · dominant hazard Other

Hail · 1Tornado · 9Flood · 3Wind · 2Winter · 0

Pierce County within Washington. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 34 events for Pierce County, Washington, between 1950 and 2026; other events account for the largest share.

That is 2.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Washington figure of 15.1, and 0.4 per 10,000 residents against 12.9 statewide.

0 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 2 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $49M.

FEMA has designated the county in 26 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (major disaster, 7 Apr 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1,106 claims since 1978, of which 864 were paid, totalling $26M (about $30K per paid claim). FEMA counts 2,101 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($532M a year across 18 hazards).

0events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

34events since 19500 deaths, 2 injuries recorded

26disaster declarationslast 7 Apr 2026

1,106NFIP flood claims$26M paid

Compared with Washington and the United States

Measure	Pierce County	Washington	US
Recorded events since 1950	34	10,014	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	2.0	15.1	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	0.4	12.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	0	130	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	321	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$49M	$4.6B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.2	2.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$30K	$29K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	6.8	10.7	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1

Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Tornado: 2Lightning: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Flood: 2Lightning: 2Other: 10

Tornado: 3Flood: 1Wind: 1Lightning: 1Other: 4

01950s01960s11970s21980s41990s172000s102010s02020s

Recorded events in Pierce County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 19 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 13 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Other14

Tornado9

Lightning5

Flood3

Wind2

Hail1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Other	14	—	1.9%
■ Tornado	9	—	6.5%
■ Lightning	5	—	4.7%
■ Flood	3	—	0.4%
■ Wind	2	—	0.1%
■ Hail	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
4 Nov 2006	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$36M	—	—	—	County
1 Sep 2004	Lightning	Lightning	—	$2K	—	—	1	County
3 Sep 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	$2K	—	—	1	County
7 Jan 2009	Flood	Flood	—	$8.8M	—	—	—	County
4 Nov 2006	Flood	Flood	—	$2.1M	—	—	—	County
20 Oct 2003	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$800K	—	—	—	County
12 Nov 2008	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$800K	—	—	—	County
29 Sep 2005	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
6 Sep 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$180K	—	—	—	County
31 May 1997	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$150K	—	—	—	County
27 Jun 2001	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$100K	—	—	—	County
5 Jan 2006	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
7 Apr 2026	DR-4906	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Dec 2025	EM-3629	Emergency	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
9 Sep 2020	FM-5360	Fire management assistance	Fire	Sumner Grade Fire	Public assistance
22 Mar 2020	DR-4481	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3427	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
5 Mar 2012	DR-4056	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
2 Mar 2009	DR-1825	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow	Public assistance
30 Jan 2009	DR-1817	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Feb 2007	DR-1682	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Dec 2006	DR-1671	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Sep 2005	EM-3227	Emergency	Coastal Storm	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
7 Nov 2003	DR-1499	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
1 Mar 2001	DR-1361	Major disaster	Earthquake	Earthquake	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Jan 1997	DR-1159	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Land & Muds Slides,Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Feb 1996	DR-1100	Major disaster	Flood	High Winds, Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jan 1996	DR-1079	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, High Wind, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Mar 1993	DR-981	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms & High Wind	Public assistance
8 Mar 1991	DR-896	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & High Tides	Public assistance
26 Nov 1990	DR-883	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Jan 1990	DR-852	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Dec 1986	DR-784	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
21 May 1980	DR-623	Major disaster	Volcanic Eruption	Volcanic Eruption, Mt. St. Helens	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Dec 1977	DR-545	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms,Mudslides, & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Mar 1972	DR-328	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 May 1965	DR-196	Major disaster	Earthquake	Earthquake	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Dec 1964	DR-185	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Pierce County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,106

Paid claims864

Total paid$26M

Average paid claim$30K

Repetitive-loss properties979 severe

Residential policies in force2,1010.7% of 292,228 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	5	3	$42,904	$14,301
2025	29	23	$1,607,497	$69,891
2024	4	0	$0	—
2023	2	0	$0	—
2022	64	48	$2,775,851	$57,830
2021	9	5	$123,374	$24,675
2020	14	10	$224,291	$22,429
2019	8	5	$55,494	$11,099
2018	3	1	$198	$198
2017	5	1	$4,504	$4,504
2016	9	4	$58,471	$14,618
2015	25	17	$247,776	$14,575
2014	14	10	$110,339	$11,034
2013	5	2	$20,858	$10,429
2012	17	14	$380,395	$27,171
2011	3	1	$659	$659
2010	4	1	$226	$226
2009	230	195	$8,002,725	$41,040
2008	11	9	$127,282	$14,142
2007	12	7	$36,360	$5,194
2006	143	128	$3,679,731	$28,748
2005	1	1	$1,843	$1,843
2004	3	1	$7,071	$7,071
2003	11	8	$66,049	$8,256
2002	5	4	$22,886	$5,721

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 98.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$532MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Earthquake	Relatively High	$363,823,475
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$121,581,168
Heat wave	Relatively High	$13,504,948
Cold wave	Relatively High	$9,602,032
Avalanche	Very High	$8,590,500
Volcanic activity	Relatively High	$6,793,028
Coastal flooding	Relatively Moderate	$1,494,226
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,483,532
Tsunami	Relatively Low	$1,420,880
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,138,162
Ice storm	Relatively High	$727,104
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$544,053
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$385,562
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$365,686
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$331,583
Hail	Very Low	$70,729
Drought	Very Low	$11

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

98390 217
98443 181
98371 104
98360 77
98466 50
98372 46
98499 40
98445 35
98335 31
98422 29
98328 21
98404 21
98332 18
98385 18
98391 18
98444 17
98374 14
98446 14
98321 13
98424 11
98407 10
98338 9
98354 9
98580 9
98409 8
98558 7
98333 6
98388 6
98421 6
98498 6
98329 5
98349 5
98373 5
98406 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Pierce County, WA?

NCEI records 1 hail event in Pierce County since 1950, in 1 different years; that is about 0.0 recorded events a year. 0 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Pierce County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 9 tornadoes in Pierce County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Pierce County?

7 Apr 2026: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 26 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Pierce County, and how much was paid?

1,106 NFIP claims since 1978, 864 of them paid, for $26M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Pierce County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Very Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Pierce County compare with the rest of Washington?

2.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 15.1 statewide, and 1.2 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.1. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.