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Durham Oregon city hallPhoto: M.O. Stevens · Public domain
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Durham · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Durham than in 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Durham gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (60%), then river and rain flooding (39%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 60%River and rain flooding 39%

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

more than 78%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Oregon · higher than 78% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
60% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 11 declared for Washington County
By hazard

What Durham faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

60%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

39%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 57% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Tornadoes Hail Ice storms Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Durham’s grade

Earthquakes are 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Durham, and Durham’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 39% (lower than 57% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Durham sits
Durham
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Durham’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes60%River and rain flooding39%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Durham: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Durham covers 2 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Durham flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Durham. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Durham isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Washington County.
Disasters

The storms Durham remembers

None of the 11 disasters declared for Washington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Durham itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in DurhamWashington County only

Washington County has had 11 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Washington County, 2020–2024.

Next door

Durham and its neighbors

Durham is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Tualatin: hazard risk C+Tigard: hazard risk CTualatinTigardDurham
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
TualatinC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding44
TigardCmore damage than 72%earthquakes13
DurhamC−more damage than 78%earthquakes0

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Durham faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Durham

Is Durham at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Durham has higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (60%) and river and rain flooding (39%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Durham 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 Washington County, 38% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Durham?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Durham’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Durham at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Durham’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Durham.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Durham’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.