Washington Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of Washington's 39 counties, 1 has a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is King County (score 99.7 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $4.7 billion a year.
OpenFEMA lists 220 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Washington since 1956 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is EM-3650-WA, Wildfires, declared 3 August 2026.
Live weather alerts for Washington Latest FEMA declarations All official warnings
Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreTornado 39 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | Relatively Moderate | $3.5 million |
| 2 | Spokane County | Relatively Low | $1.1 million |
| 3 | Pierce County | Relatively Low | $1.1 million |
| 4 | Snohomish County | Relatively Low | $1.0 million |
| 5 | Clark County | Relatively Low | $716,655 |
| 6 | Thurston County | Very Low | $430,890 |
| 7 | Kitsap County | Very Low | $429,112 |
| 8 | Cowlitz County | Very Low | $252,331 |
| 9 | Benton County | Very Low | $239,693 |
| 10 | Yakima County | Very Low | $181,134 |
Inland flooding 39 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | Very High | $417 million |
| 2 | Pierce County | Relatively High | $122 million |
| 3 | Snohomish County | Relatively High | $112 million |
| 4 | Yakima County | Relatively Moderate | $44 million |
| 5 | Clark County | Relatively Moderate | $68 million |
| 6 | Spokane County | Relatively Moderate | $53 million |
| 7 | Chelan County | Relatively Moderate | $41 million |
| 8 | Lewis County | Relatively Moderate | $37 million |
| 9 | Thurston County | Relatively Moderate | $50 million |
| 10 | Benton County | Relatively Moderate | $40 million |
Coastal flooding 18 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grays Harbor County | Very High | $24 million |
| 2 | Skagit County | Relatively High | $7.0 million |
| 3 | Kitsap County | Relatively Moderate | $2.8 million |
| 4 | Snohomish County | Relatively Moderate | $2.4 million |
| 5 | Mason County | Relatively Moderate | $1.3 million |
| 6 | Pacific County | Relatively Moderate | $1.4 million |
| 7 | Island County | Relatively Moderate | $1.4 million |
| 8 | Pierce County | Relatively Moderate | $1.5 million |
| 9 | King County | Relatively Moderate | $1.5 million |
| 10 | Wahkiakum County | Relatively Moderate | $931,381 |
Wildfire 39 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kittitas County | Relatively High | $42 million |
| 2 | Chelan County | Relatively High | $35 million |
| 3 | Okanogan County | Relatively High | $20 million |
| 4 | Yakima County | Relatively High | $19 million |
| 5 | Klickitat County | Relatively High | $14 million |
| 6 | Ferry County | Relatively Moderate | $5.2 million |
| 7 | Benton County | Relatively Moderate | $6.9 million |
| 8 | Lincoln County | Relatively Moderate | $4.8 million |
| 9 | Spokane County | Relatively Moderate | $7.0 million |
| 10 | Stevens County | Relatively Moderate | $4.9 million |
Earthquake 39 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | Very High | $1.2 billion |
| 2 | Pierce County | Relatively High | $364 million |
| 3 | Snohomish County | Relatively High | $247 million |
| 4 | Thurston County | Relatively High | $134 million |
| 5 | Kitsap County | Relatively High | $120 million |
| 6 | Grays Harbor County | Relatively High | $47 million |
| 7 | Clallam County | Relatively Moderate | $39 million |
| 8 | Whatcom County | Relatively Moderate | $51 million |
| 9 | Clark County | Relatively Moderate | $54 million |
| 10 | Cowlitz County | Relatively Moderate | $39 million |
Every Washington county, highest overall risk first
39| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | Very High | 99.7 | $1.7 billion | Earthquake | 33 | 5 |
| 2 | Pierce County | Relatively High | 98.5 | $532 million | Earthquake | 24 | 9 |
| 3 | Snohomish County | Relatively High | 97.9 | $409 million | Landslide | 35 | 7 |
| 4 | Grays Harbor County | Relatively High | 97.0 | $212 million | Tsunami | 33 | 3 |
| 5 | Thurston County | Relatively High | 94.5 | $191 million | Landslide | 28 | 5 |
| 6 | Yakima County | Relatively Moderate | 94.0 | $120 million | Wildfire | 37 | 8 |
| 7 | Pacific County | Relatively Moderate | 92.7 | $106 million | Tsunami | 25 | 3 |
| 8 | Kitsap County | Relatively Moderate | 92.3 | $158 million | Landslide | 14 | 2 |
| 9 | Clark County | Relatively Moderate | 92.2 | $157 million | Earthquake | 15 | 14 |
| 10 | Whatcom County | Relatively Moderate | 91.0 | $111 million | Avalanche | 25 | 1 |
| 11 | Chelan County | Relatively Moderate | 90.9 | $89 million | Wildfire | 51 | 0 |
| 12 | Cowlitz County | Relatively Moderate | 90.3 | $88 million | Volcanic activity | 21 | 3 |
| 13 | Spokane County | Relatively Moderate | 90.0 | $99 million | Cold wave | 31 | 16 |
| 14 | Lewis County | Relatively Moderate | 89.7 | $71 million | Earthquake | 35 | 3 |
| 15 | Clallam County | Relatively Moderate | 89.7 | $63 million | Earthquake | 28 | 0 |
| 16 | Okanogan County | Relatively Moderate | 89.2 | $51 million | Wildfire | 40 | 5 |
| 17 | Kittitas County | Relatively Moderate | 89.1 | $78 million | Wildfire | 27 | 1 |
| 18 | Skagit County | Relatively Moderate | 88.8 | $81 million | Volcanic activity | 27 | 0 |
| 19 | Benton County | Relatively Moderate | 87.1 | $70 million | Wildfire | 18 | 5 |
| 20 | Mason County | Relatively Moderate | 85.3 | $44 million | Landslide | 30 | 1 |
| 21 | Island County | Relatively Low | 78.0 | $39 million | Landslide | 20 | 0 |
| 22 | Grant County | Relatively Low | 76.9 | $29 million | Wildfire | 10 | 6 |
| 23 | Douglas County | Relatively Low | 74.1 | $27 million | Wildfire | 17 | 3 |
| 24 | Klickitat County | Relatively Low | 73.9 | $26 million | Wildfire | 27 | 0 |
| 25 | Franklin County | Relatively Low | 72.5 | $33 million | Heat wave | 9 | 2 |
| 26 | Jefferson County | Relatively Low | 64.4 | $17 million | Landslide | 28 | 0 |
| 27 | Walla Walla County | Relatively Low | 60.4 | $20 million | Earthquake | 11 | 5 |
| 28 | Stevens County | Relatively Low | 60.3 | $18 million | Wildfire | 21 | 5 |
| 29 | Lincoln County | Relatively Low | 54.9 | $14 million | Wildfire | 15 | 12 |
| 30 | Ferry County | Relatively Low | 51.7 | $11 million | Wildfire | 22 | 1 |
| 31 | Skamania County | Relatively Low | 49.7 | $19 million | Volcanic activity | 27 | 0 |
| 32 | Whitman County | Very Low | 39.8 | $14 million | Landslide | 16 | 3 |
| 33 | San Juan County | Very Low | 35.4 | $9.9 million | Earthquake | 10 | 0 |
| 34 | Pend Oreille County | Very Low | 28.0 | $9.1 million | Landslide | 19 | 1 |
| 35 | Adams County | Very Low | 23.2 | $7.4 million | Wildfire | 8 | 3 |
| 36 | Wahkiakum County | Very Low | 19.3 | $6.0 million | Landslide | 31 | 0 |
| 37 | Asotin County | Very Low | 17.9 | $5.4 million | Wildfire | 11 | 0 |
| 38 | Columbia County | Very Low | 8.6 | $3.9 million | Wildfire | 14 | 2 |
| 39 | Garfield County | Very Low | 1.6 | $2.0 million | Wildfire | 13 | 0 |
Score: FEMA's national percentile (higher = more risk). Declarations: federal declarations that named the county since 1953, not counting COVID-19. Tornadoes: NOAA SPC tornadoes that touched the county, 1950–2025.
Latest federal declarations in Washington
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What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index compares every US county with every other for 18 natural hazards, combining expected losses with social vulnerability and community resilience. It is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not the risk to any one property — for flood zones use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center ↗. Federal declarations exclude state declarations and SBA or USDA designations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Washington
Which county in Washington has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of Washington's 39 counties, 1 has a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is King County (score 99.7 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $4.7 billion a year.
Which Washington counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: King County, Spokane County, Pierce County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which Washington counties are most at risk from inland flooding?
By FEMA's National Risk Index inland flooding risk score: King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Washington had?
OpenFEMA lists 220 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Washington since 1956 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is EM-3650-WA, Wildfires, declared 3 August 2026.