Photo: Tedder · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Pilot Rock than in 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pilot Rock gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%), then wildfire (37%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2020.
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 Pilot Rock 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
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 Pilot Rock’s grade
River and rain flooding is 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pilot Rock, and Pilot Rock’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 37%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Pilot Rock’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Pilot Rock: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pilot Rock flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2020
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pilot Rock, from FEMA’s records: 6.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 64% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Pilot Rock 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 Pilot Rock remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Umatilla County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pilot Rock itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20204 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Umatilla County
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 Pilot Rock after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pilot Rock archive →Get ready for what Pilot Rock 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.
- 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 Pilot Rock
Is Pilot Rock at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pilot Rock has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%) and wildfire (37%). 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 Pilot Rock flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Pilot Rock since 2020, $109K in all, or 6.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 64% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Pilot Rock 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 Pilot Rock?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pilot Rock’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Pilot Rock at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Pilot Rock’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pilot Rock.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pilot Rock’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.