Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Umatilla as in the typical U.S. town, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Umatilla gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns, #20 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (49%), then hurricanes (26%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Umatilla faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Wildfire
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.
What’s behind Umatilla’s grade
River and rain flooding is 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Umatilla, and Umatilla’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B #20 of 638 in Florida; lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Umatilla’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Florida town has higher expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Umatilla has less expected damage per building than 97% of Florida towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Umatilla: $795K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Umatilla flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Umatilla. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Umatilla isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lake County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Umatilla
Disasters that paid out in Umatilla itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Umatilla), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Milton743 households applied for aid$777K aid approved
- 2022Hurricane Nicole11 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2022Hurricane Ian184 households applied for aid$59K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma1,876 households applied for aid$697K aid approved$40K to the City of Umatilla for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2008Tropical Storm Fay25 households applied for aid$18K aid approved$11K to the City of Umatilla for repairs
Show all 10
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne405 households applied for aid$700K aid approved$3K to the City of Umatilla for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan12 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances422 households applied for aid$535K aid approved$6K to the City of Umatilla for repairs
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley40 households applied for aid$35K aid approved
Lake County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lake County, 2000–2007.
Old photos of Umatilla after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Umatilla archive →Umatilla and its neighbors
Umatilla has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umatilla | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Altoona | — | 37 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Umatilla faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Umatilla
Is Umatilla at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Umatilla has lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #20 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (49%) and hurricanes (26%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Umatilla 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 Lake County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Umatilla?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Umatilla’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 Umatilla?
By FEMA money that reached Umatilla, Hurricane Milton (2024): 743 households applied for aid, $777K approved.
Is Umatilla at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Umatilla’s rate for it is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Umatilla.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Umatilla’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.