Photo: Tedder · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Powers
Powers isn’t graded for hazard risk: Powers has 613 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2015.
What Powers 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
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 Powers flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2015
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Powers, from FEMA’s records.
Powers isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Coos County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Powers
Disasters that paid out in Powers itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Powers), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$20K to the City of Powers for repairs
Coos County has had 16 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.
Old photos of Powers after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Powers archive →Get ready for what Powers 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.
- 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 Powers
Does Powers flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Powers since 2015, $964 in all.
Is Powers 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 Coos County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Powers?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Powers’ 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 Powers?
By FEMA money that reached Powers, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): $20K to the City of Powers for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Powers.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Powers’ 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.