Post Falls Community United Presbyterian Church · Photo: Nancy Reilly Young · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Post Falls’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Post Falls gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, #7 of 59 in Idaho. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Post Falls 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
Earthquakes
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 Post Falls’ grade
River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Post Falls, and Post Falls’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 6% (higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #7 of 59 in Idaho; lower expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Post Falls’ residents live in 9 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, Post Falls has less expected damage per building than 90% of Idaho towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.7M a year in losses across Post Falls: $4.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Post Falls flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Post Falls. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Post Falls isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kootenai County.The storms Post Falls remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for Kootenai County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Post Falls itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Kootenai County has had 14 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Kootenai County, 2015–2015.
Post Falls and its neighbors
Post Falls has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post Falls | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Rathdrum | A−less damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | — |
| State Line | — | 9 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 Post Falls 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Post Falls
Is Post Falls at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Post Falls has lower expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #7 of 59 in Idaho. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%) and earthquakes (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Post Falls 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 Kootenai County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Post Falls?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Post Falls’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Post Falls at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Post Falls’ rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Post Falls.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Post Falls’ 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.