Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Helix
Helix isn’t graded for hazard risk: Helix has 471 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1994.
What Helix 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
Wildfire
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.
Does Helix flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1994
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Helix, from FEMA’s records.
Helix isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Umatilla County.The storms Helix remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Umatilla County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Helix itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19941 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Umatilla County has had 8 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Umatilla County, 2001–2026.
Old photos of Helix after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Helix archive →Get ready for what Helix 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.
- 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.
- 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 Helix
Does Helix flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Helix since 1994, $11K in all.
Is Helix 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 Umatilla County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Helix?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Helix’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Helix.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Helix’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.