Photo: Sam Beebe, Ecotrust · CC BY 2.0FEMA puts Yachats’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yachats gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%), then earthquakes (30%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1997.
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 Yachats 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
Tsunamis
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 Yachats’ grade
River and rain flooding is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Yachats, and Yachats’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 30%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Yachats’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Yachats: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Yachats flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1997
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Yachats, from FEMA’s records: 6.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 65% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Yachats isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lincoln County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Yachats
Disasters that paid out in Yachats itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Yachats), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Wildfires and Straight-line Winds4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$8K to the City of Yachats for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$60K to the City of Yachats for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$6K to the City of Yachats for repairs
Lincoln County has had 19 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lincoln County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Yachats after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Yachats archive →Get ready for what Yachats 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.
- Strong shaking or a sudden drop in the sea means head for high ground now.
- Learn the tsunami route signs near the shore.
- Stay away until officials say it’s safe.
- 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 Yachats
Is Yachats at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yachats has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%) and earthquakes (30%). 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 Yachats flood?
Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Yachats since 1997, $52K in all, or 6.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 65% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Yachats 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 Lincoln County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Yachats?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Yachats’ 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 Yachats?
By FEMA money that reached Yachats, Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2015): $60K to the City of Yachats for repairs.
Is Yachats at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Yachats’ rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Yachats.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Yachats’ 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.