Question 1

Which county in Washington has the highest natural disaster risk?

Accepted Answer

King County has the highest natural disaster risk score in Washington at 99.7 (Very High), based on FEMA National Risk Index data.

Question 2

Which county in Washington is the safest from natural disasters?

Accepted Answer

Garfield County has the lowest natural disaster risk score in Washington at 1.6 (Very Low), based on FEMA NRI data.

Question 3

What natural disasters are most common in Washington?

Accepted Answer

Washington counties face varying levels of risk from floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The FEMA National Risk Index scores each county across 18 hazard types. See individual county pages for detailed hazard breakdowns.

Question 4

How is natural disaster risk measured by county?

Accepted Answer

The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) measures natural disaster risk using expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Scores are normalized nationally, with ratings from Very Low to Very High across 18 natural hazard types.

County	Risk Score	Rating	Flood	Wildfire	Tornado	Earthquake
King County	99.7	Very High	99.5	79.5	73.2	99.9
Pierce County	98.5	Relatively High	96.2	76.8	41.2	99.6
Snohomish County	97.9	Relatively High	95.7	61.5	38.8	99.3
Grays Harbor County	97.0	Relatively High	99.0	33.9	13.2	98.1
Thurston County	94.5	Relatively High	90.8	57.1	25.0	98.9
Yakima County	94.0	Relatively Moderate	92.9	98.9	19.5	97.4
Pacific County	92.7	Relatively Moderate	75.0	27.7	7.3	95.1
Kitsap County	92.3	Relatively Moderate	79.4	39.9	23.7	98.7
Clark County	92.2	Relatively Moderate	92.6	69.6	31.3	97.6
Whatcom County	91.0	Relatively Moderate	88.9	61.7	13.1	97.8
Chelan County	90.9	Relatively Moderate	91.3	99.6	9.3	88.8
Cowlitz County	90.3	Relatively Moderate	88.3	61.3	20.5	97.5
Spokane County	90.0	Relatively Moderate	91.6	96.6	42.7	85.9
Clallam County	89.7	Relatively Moderate	75.0	39.7	12.0	98.1
Lewis County	89.7	Relatively Moderate	90.9	76.7	17.4	97.3
Okanogan County	89.2	Relatively Moderate	89.1	99.3	6.6	86.2
Kittitas County	89.1	Relatively Moderate	74.8	99.7	7.4	93.9
Skagit County	88.8	Relatively Moderate	91.4	52.5	11.2	97.0
Benton County	87.1	Relatively Moderate	89.7	96.7	19.6	93.1
Mason County	85.3	Relatively Moderate	79.3	44.1	13.8	97.2
Island County	78.0	Relatively Low	73.4	35.4	11.3	96.3
Grant County	76.9	Relatively Low	77.2	95.8	15.5	89.2
Douglas County	74.1	Relatively Low	82.1	94.7	6.7	81.6
Klickitat County	73.9	Relatively Low	66.6	98.4	6.3	78.4
Franklin County	72.5	Relatively Low	83.5	84.6	12.5	80.7
Jefferson County	64.4	Relatively Low	64.4	23.5	9.5	95.0
Walla Walla County	60.4	Relatively Low	64.8	83.5	11.8	90.6
Stevens County	60.3	Relatively Low	68.6	96.5	12.5	43.0
Lincoln County	54.9	Relatively Low	50.0	96.7	7.6	63.0
Ferry County	51.7	Relatively Low	52.3	97.4	4.4	45.1
Skamania County	49.7	Relatively Low	49.8	93.9	5.6	87.1
Whitman County	39.8	Very Low	58.8	68.3	10.4	55.1
San Juan County	35.4	Very Low	58.4	41.3	4.4	89.4
Pend Oreille County	28.0	Very Low	54.3	76.9	5.9	27.7
Adams County	23.2	Very Low	34.3	85.2	7.2	64.6
Wahkiakum County	19.3	Very Low	70.4	12.2	3.9	75.2
Asotin County	17.9	Very Low	38.5	89.4	6.9	32.7
Columbia County	8.6	Very Low	30.7	73.3	3.2	34.0
Garfield County	1.6	Very Low	10.3	69.2	2.1	18.9

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