Photo: Julius Reque of Traveling12feet · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Birch Bay faces more hazard damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Birch Bay gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, #104 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (47%), then river and rain flooding (44%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2012.
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 Birch Bay 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
Coastal 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 Birch Bay’s grade
Earthquakes are 47% of the building damage FEMA expects in Birch Bay, and Birch Bay’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 8%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C #104 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Birch Bay’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Birch Bay has less expected damage per building than 64% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.3M a year in losses across Birch Bay: $3.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Birch Bay flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 2012
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Birch Bay, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Birch Bay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Whatcom County.The storms Birch Bay remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Whatcom County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Birch Bay itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20225 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20121 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20161 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Whatcom County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. 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 Whatcom County, 2015–2015.
Old photos of Birch Bay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Birch Bay archive →Birch Bay and its neighbors
Birch Bay is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine | C+more damage than 61% | earthquakes | 2 |
| Birch Bay | Cmore damage than 70% | earthquakes | 8 |
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 Birch Bay 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Birch Bay
Is Birch Bay at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Birch Bay has higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #104 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (47%) and river and rain flooding (44%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Birch Bay flood?
Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Birch Bay since 2012, $497K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Birch Bay 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 Whatcom County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Birch Bay?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Birch Bay’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Birch Bay at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (47%), and Birch Bay’s rate for it is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Birch Bay.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Birch Bay’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.