Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainMore hazard damage per building is expected in Bonners Ferry than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bonners Ferry gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, #47 of 59 in Idaho. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 Bonners Ferry 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
Landslides
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 Bonners Ferry’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bonners Ferry, and Bonners Ferry’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Landslides add 6%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
C #47 of 59 in Idaho; higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bonners Ferry’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Idaho town has higher expected damage than 52% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bonners Ferry has more expected damage per building than 79% of Idaho towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Bonners Ferry: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bonners Ferry flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bonners Ferry. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bonners Ferry isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Boundary County.The storms Bonners Ferry remembers
None of the 9 disasters declared for Boundary County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bonners Ferry itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Boundary County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Bonners Ferry 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.
- Watch for new cracks, tilting trees or suddenly muddy streams after heavy rain.
- Stay off steep slopes in a downpour.
- Leave if you hear rumbling upslope.
- 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 Bonners Ferry
Is Bonners Ferry at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bonners Ferry has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #47 of 59 in Idaho. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and landslides (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bonners Ferry 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 Boundary County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Bonners Ferry?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bonners Ferry’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Bonners Ferry at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Bonners Ferry’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bonners Ferry.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bonners Ferry’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.