Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Whittier
Whittier isn’t graded for hazard risk: Whittier has 411 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Whittier faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Whittier flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Whittier. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Whittier isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: the county.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Whittier
Disasters that paid out in Whittier itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Whittier), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 1999Severe Winter Storms and Avalanches$20K to the City of Whittier for repairs
Old photos of Whittier after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Whittier archive →Get ready for what Whittier faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Strong shaking or a sudden drop in the sea means head for high ground now.
- Learn the tsunami route signs near the shore.
- Stay away until officials say it’s safe.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Whittier
Is Whittier in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In the county, 1.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Whittier?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Whittier’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Whittier?
By FEMA money that reached Whittier, Severe Winter Storms and Avalanches (1999): $20K to the City of Whittier for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Whittier.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Whittier’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.