County Hazards

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Washington

The recorded hazard history of every county in Washington: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Washington has 10,014 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 39 counties, led by winter storms and snow: 15.1 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 321 deaths and 1,261 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $4.6B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are San Juan, Wahkiakum and Spokane.

FEMA lists 223 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Wildfires (3 Aug 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 16,074 flood claims since 1978, $368M paid; 23,122 residential policies are in force.

130events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026
10,014events since 195015.1 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)
223disaster declarations since 1953last 3 Aug 2026
16,074NFIP flood claims$368M paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

MeasureWashingtonUS
Recorded events since 195010,0141,977,440
Events per 100 square miles15.156.0
Events per 10,000 residents12.959.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI32126,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)$4.6B$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents2.18.1
Average paid NFIP claim$29K$43K
Residential flood policies in force23,1223,139,862

Hazard mix

Winter4,060
Wind2,732
Flood832
Other728
Wildfire542
Hail395
Heat256
Cold152
Tornado138
Lightning106
Drought40
Fog18
Tropical15
HazardEventsShare of USDeaths
■ Winter4,0601.4%53
■ Wind2,7320.4%91
■ Flood8320.5%12
■ Other7281.6%106
■ Wildfire5425.7%10
■ Hail3950.1%1
■ Heat2560.5%23
■ Cold1520.3%11
■ Tornado1380.2%6
■ Lightning1060.6%2
■ Drought400.0%—
■ Fog180.1%6
■ Tropical150.1%—

Events by decade

Hail: 5Tornado: 7Wind: 8
Hail: 5Tornado: 8Wind: 9
Hail: 11Tornado: 16Wind: 15
Hail: 9Tornado: 19Wind: 25
Hail: 60Tornado: 24Flood: 85Wind: 272Winter: 237Tropical: 1Cold: 13Drought: 2Wildfire: 19Lightning: 38Fog: 1Other: 75
Hail: 146Tornado: 31Flood: 259Wind: 863Winter: 1011Tropical: 11Heat: 41Cold: 39Drought: 38Wildfire: 134Lightning: 43Fog: 6Other: 233
Hail: 122Tornado: 20Flood: 318Wind: 1117Winter: 1827Tropical: 3Heat: 11Cold: 25Wildfire: 233Lightning: 20Fog: 8Other: 286
Hail: 37Tornado: 13Flood: 170Wind: 423Winter: 985Heat: 204Cold: 75Wildfire: 156Lightning: 5Fog: 3Other: 134
201950s221960s421970s531980s8271990s2,8552000s3,9902010s2,2052020s
Recorded events in Washington by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

CountyEventsLast 12 moPer 100 sq miPer 10k residentsDominantTornadoesHailDeclarationsNFIP claimsNRI risk
San Juan County127073.068.4Wind00129Very Low
Wahkiakum County47017.9102.6Flood013393Very Low
Spokane County249114.14.6Wind16443362Relatively Moderate
Clark County73411.61.4Other15717162Relatively Moderate
Asotin County4807.521.4Hail021134Very Low
Walla Walla County9027.114.4Wind52113100Relatively Low
Pend Oreille County8806.363.4Wind1252199Very Low
Chelan County16975.821.2Flood02253183Relatively Moderate
Whitman County12655.826.3Flood3221858Very Low
Benton County8805.24.2Wind51420109Relatively Moderate
Cowlitz County5905.25.3Flood5323684Relatively Moderate
Stevens County11704.724.7Wind5312315Relatively Low
Okanogan County23104.454.2Flood5364289Relatively Moderate
Kitsap County1704.30.6Other2016229Relatively Moderate
King County8303.90.4Other54353,384Very High
Thurston County2803.90.9Other5330387Relatively High
Ferry County8403.8115.5Wind110244Relatively Low
Franklin County4503.64.6Wind25111Relatively Low
Garfield County2503.5106.6Hail012152Very Low
Lincoln County8213.573.0Wind12111712Relatively Low
Grant County8203.18.2Wind6171218Relatively Low
Columbia County2613.064.3Hail2101656Very Low
Pacific County2813.011.7Flood3127216Relatively Moderate
Island County602.90.7Other0022279Relatively Low
Douglas County5012.711.4Hail316194Relatively Low
Yakima County11702.74.6Flood82239320Relatively Moderate
Snohomish County5402.60.6Other73371,961Relatively High
Adams County3802.018.4Wind310108Very Low
Pierce County3402.00.4Other91261,106Relatively High
Kittitas County4101.89.0Flood1729255Relatively Moderate
Mason County1701.82.5Other1132305Relatively Moderate
Grays Harbor County3101.64.0Other3135921Relatively High
Klickitat County2801.512.1Hail0122920Relatively Low
Clallam County2101.22.7Other0030101Relatively Moderate
Jefferson County1600.94.8Other003053Relatively Low
Skagit County1600.91.2Flood00291,294Relatively Moderate
Whatcom County2000.90.9Other10271,211Relatively Moderate
Lewis County1900.82.3Flood30372,102Relatively Moderate
Skamania County1100.79.0Other022915Relatively Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

CountyClaims, last 10 yearsPolicies in forceClaims per 100 policiesClaims since 1978Paid
Whatcom County6921,49746.21,211$53M
Walla Walla County3814526.2100$1.9M
Okanogan County2318312.689$479K
Mason County5141912.2305$6.4M
Kitsap County8879511.1229$4.2M
Lewis County1151,03511.12,102$83M
King County4574,52910.13,384$67M
Thurston County697039.8387$6.5M
Skagit County2292,4579.31,294$23M
Island County809068.8279$4.1M
Snohomish County1561,7698.81,961$37M
Chelan County414698.7183$3.0M
Benton County151888.0109$1.5M
Pacific County313937.9216$4.1M
Kittitas County374917.5255$3.4M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026
Declarations touching Washington by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.
Incident typeDeclarations
Fire155
Flood35
Severe Storm20
Biological3
Mud/Landslide3
Earthquake2
Coastal Storm1
Severe Ice Storm1
Fishing Losses1
Volcanic Eruption1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
3 Aug 2026EM-3650EmergencyFireWildfires6
2 Aug 2026FM-5659Fire management assistanceFireAutumn Lane Fire2
2 Aug 2026FM-5658Fire management assistanceFireFairview Fire1
1 Aug 2026FM-5657Fire management assistanceFireSinlahekin Fire1
1 Aug 2026FM-5656Fire management assistanceFireOld Trails Fire1
30 Jul 2026FM-5653Fire management assistanceFireModrite Fire1
26 Jul 2026FM-5651Fire management assistanceFireRansier Fire1
26 Jul 2026FM-5649Fire management assistanceFireSignal Peak Fire1
17 Jul 2026FM-5646Fire management assistanceFireKaiser Canyon Fire1
16 Jun 2026FM-5638Fire management assistanceFireUpriver Fire1
7 Apr 2026DR-4906Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides24
12 Dec 2025EM-3629EmergencyFloodSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides16
26 Sep 2025FM-5614Fire management assistanceFireLower Sugarloaf Fire1
19 Jul 2025FM-5601Fire management assistanceFireBurdoin Fire1
26 Nov 2024DR-4849Major disasterFireWildfires0

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026
NFIP claims in Washington by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

16,074 claims, 12,836 paid, $368M in total; 1,444 repetitive-loss and 223 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Washington with flood claims (291).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1954

Questions and answers

Which Washington counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Spokane (16), Clark (15) and Lincoln (12), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Washington counties have the most flood insurance claims?

King (3,384), Lewis (2,102) and Snohomish (1,961) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Washington had?

223 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 11 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Washington compare with the national rate?

15.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 2.1 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.