Photo: Sam Beebe Camera location45° 08′ 14.4″ N, 123° 13′ 52.2″ W View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap 45.137333; -123.231167 · CC BY 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Amity than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Amity gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (56%), then river and rain flooding (42%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2021.
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 Amity 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
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 Amity’s grade
Earthquakes are 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Amity, and Amity’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 42% (lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts).
C higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Amity’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $995K a year in losses across Amity: $690K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Amity flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2021
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Amity, from FEMA’s records: 1.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 70% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Amity isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Yamhill County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Amity
Disasters that paid out in Amity itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Amity), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storm$5K to the City of Amity for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2008Severe Winter Storm, Record and Near Record Snow$851 to the City of Amity for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$7K to the City of Amity for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$134K to the City of Amity for repairs
Yamhill County has had 15 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 Yamhill County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Amity after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Amity archive →Get ready for what Amity 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.
- 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 Amity
Is Amity at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Amity has higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (56%) and river and rain flooding (42%). 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.
Does Amity flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Amity since 2021, $12K in all, or 1.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 70% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Amity 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 Yamhill County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Amity?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Amity’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 Amity?
By FEMA money that reached Amity, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2005): $134K to the City of Amity for repairs.
Is Amity at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Amity’s rate for it is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Amity.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Amity’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.