Photo: TheConduqtor · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Washoe Valley’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 90% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Washoe Valley gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, #34 of 42 in Nevada. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (35%), then river and rain flooding (33%). 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 Washoe Valley faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
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 Washoe Valley’s grade
Earthquakes are 35% of the building damage FEMA expects in Washoe Valley, and Washoe Valley’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 32%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D #34 of 42 in Nevada; higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Washoe Valley’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Nevada town has higher expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Washoe Valley has more expected damage per building than 80% of Nevada towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Washoe Valley: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Washoe Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Washoe Valley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Washoe Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Washoe County.The storms Washoe Valley remembers
None of the 9 disasters declared for Washoe County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Washoe Valley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Washoe County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 42 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Washoe County, 1999–2026.
Get ready for what Washoe Valley 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.
- 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.
- 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 Washoe Valley
Is Washoe Valley at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Washoe Valley has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #34 of 42 in Nevada. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (35%) and river and rain flooding (33%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Washoe Valley 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 Washoe County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Washoe Valley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Washoe Valley’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Washoe Valley at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (35%), and Washoe Valley’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Washoe Valley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Washoe Valley’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.