Winn Barn · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Weston
Weston isn’t graded for hazard risk: Weston has 443 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1996.
What Weston 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 Weston flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Weston, from FEMA’s records.
Weston 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.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Weston
Disasters that paid out in Weston itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Weston), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides5 households applied for aid$14K aid approved$27K to the City of Weston for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2019Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$154K to the City of Weston for repairs
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 Weston after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Weston archive →Get ready for what Weston 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 Weston
Does Weston flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Weston since 1996, $28K in all.
Is Weston 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 Weston?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Weston’s 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 Weston?
By FEMA money that reached Weston, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2019): $154K to the City of Weston for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Weston.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Weston’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.