King County, Washington: Natural Disaster Risk and History
King County, Washington has a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 99.7 out of 100, higher than about 99% of US counties, with earthquakes, inland (river and flash) flooding and avalanches scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $1.7 billion a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 33 federal disaster declarations that included King County since 1964, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4906-WA (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared 7 April 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 5 tornadoes touching King County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Washington All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 2,268,178 Buildings worth $528 billion Area 2,331 sq mi Risk rank in Washington 1 of 39 FIPS 53033
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Very High | 99.9 | $1.2 billion | about once every 21 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Very High | 99.5 | $417 million | about once every 3.5 years | 8 |
| Avalanche | Very High | 99.3 | $11 million | about 1.1 a year | 32 |
| Landslide | Relatively High | 99.0 | $1.7 million | about 4.3 a year | — |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 98.2 | $19 million | about 3.8 a year | 48 |
| Volcanic activity | Relatively High | 97.4 | $1.9 million | about once every 81 years | 6 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 94.7 | $814,521 | about 27 a year | 478 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 91.1 | $1.3 million | about once every 1.3 years | 50 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 79.5 | $487,057 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 74.7 | $750,406 | about 9.9 a year | 352,972 strikes |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 73.2 | $3.5 million | about once every 13 years | 1 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 71.0 | $1.5 million | about 3.2 a year | — |
| Tsunami | Relatively Low | 67.7 | $6.3 million | about once every 18 years | 12 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 26.5 | $448,623 | about once every 22 years | 0.8 |
| Drought | Very Low | 13.7 | $240 | about 4 a year | 161 |
| Strong wind | Very Low | 4.5 | $38,512 | about once every 71 years | 1 |
| Hail | Very Low | 3.1 | $7,653 | about once every 30 years | 1.3 |
| Hurricane | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 33
Most common: Flood 17, Severe Storm 11, Earthquake 2, Fire 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2 | Earthquake, Flood |
| 1970s | 4 | Flood ×4 |
| 1980s | 3 | Flood ×2, Volcanic Eruption |
| 1990s | 8 | Flood ×5, Severe Storm ×3 |
| 2000s | 8 | Severe Storm ×5, Flood, Coastal Storm, Earthquake |
| 2010s | 3 | Severe Storm ×2, Flood |
| 2020s | 5 | Flood ×3, Severe Storm, Fire |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included King County
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (2005, EM-3227-WA): 39 Washington counties designated.
- Volcanic Eruption, Mt. St. Helens (1980, DR-623-WA): 39 Washington counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storms, Land & Muds Slides,flooding (1997, DR-1159-WA): 38 Washington counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Washington also had 25 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 5
| Tornadoes touching the county | 5 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×1 |
| Peak month | December (2) |
| Deadliest | 12 Dec 1969, F3, 3.8 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured |
| Longest path | 18 Aug 1964, F0, 5.2 mi path |
| Most recent | 11 Jun 2001, F0 |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 1 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How King County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King County (this page) | — | Very High | 99.7 | Earthquake |
| Pierce County | 57 km | Relatively High | 98.5 | Earthquake |
| Snohomish County | 62 km | Relatively High | 97.9 | Landslide |
| Kitsap County | 67 km | Relatively Moderate | 92.3 | Landslide |
| Island County | 93 km | Relatively Low | 78.0 | Landslide |
| Kittitas County | 94 km | Relatively Moderate | 89.1 | Wildfire |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Washington, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very Low 14.8 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 87.4 |
| Community risk factor | 0.83 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $1.7 billion |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for King County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Washington · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Earthquake: Earthquakes today · Earthquake safety guide
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods recorded
- Avalanche: Official warnings now
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
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 King County
What natural disasters is King County, Washington most at risk from?
King County, Washington has a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 99.7 out of 100, higher than about 99% of US counties, with earthquakes, inland (river and flash) flooding and avalanches scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $1.7 billion a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has King County had?
OpenFEMA lists 33 federal disaster declarations that included King County since 1964, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4906-WA (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared 7 April 2026). Another 25 Washington declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit King County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 5 tornadoes touching King County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 12 Dec 1969, F3, 3.8 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.