More hazard damage per building is expected in Bell Hill than in 75% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bell Hill gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (58%), then river and rain flooding (41%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Bell Hill faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
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 Bell Hill’s grade
Earthquakes are 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bell Hill, and Bell Hill’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 41% (lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts).
C higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bell Hill’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $340K a year in losses across Bell Hill: $278K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bell Hill flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bell Hill. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bell Hill isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clallam County.The storms Bell Hill remembers
None of the 25 disasters declared for Clallam County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bell Hill itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Clallam County has had 25 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.
Bell Hill and its neighbors
Bell Hill has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Hill | Cmore damage than 75% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Sequim | Dmore damage than 87% | earthquakes | 2 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Bell Hill faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Bell Hill
Is Bell Hill at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bell Hill has higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (58%) and river and rain flooding (41%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bell Hill 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 Clallam County, 0.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Bell Hill?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bell Hill’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Bell Hill at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Bell Hill’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bell Hill.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bell Hill’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.