Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Baker City’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baker City gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #9 of 142 in Oregon. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%), then earthquakes (19%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1984.
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 Baker City 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
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 Baker City’s grade
River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Baker City, and Baker City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 16%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #9 of 142 in Oregon; lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Baker City’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Oregon town has higher expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Baker City has less expected damage per building than 94% of Oregon towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.4M a year in losses across Baker City: $3.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Baker City flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Baker City, from FEMA’s records: 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 91% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Baker City isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Baker County.The storms Baker City remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Baker County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Baker City itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19841 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19961 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms, Land and Mudslides, Flooding, declared for Baker County
Baker County has had 4 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 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Baker County, 2006–2026.
Old photos of Baker City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Baker City archive →Get ready for what Baker City 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.
- 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 Baker City
Is Baker City at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baker City has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #9 of 142 in Oregon. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%) and earthquakes (19%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Baker City flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Baker City since 1984, $25K in all, or 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 91% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Baker City 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 Baker County, 0.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Baker City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Baker City’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Baker City at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Baker City’s rate for it is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Baker City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Baker City’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.