More hazard damage per building is expected in Big Lake than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Big Lake gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then earthquakes (23%). 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 Big Lake 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.
What’s behind Big Lake’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Big Lake, and Big Lake’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Landslides add 2%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Big Lake’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Big Lake: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Big Lake flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Big Lake. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Big Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Skagit County.The storms Big Lake remembers
None of the 24 disasters declared for Skagit County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Big Lake itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Skagit County has had 24 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 Skagit County, 2015–2015.
Big Lake and its neighbors
Big Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lake | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Mount Vernon | C−more damage than 79% | earthquakes | 71 |
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 Big Lake 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 Big Lake
Is Big Lake at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Big Lake has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and earthquakes (23%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Big Lake 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 Skagit County, 4.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Big Lake?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Big Lake’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Big Lake at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Big Lake’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Big Lake.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Big Lake’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.