Storms, floods and disasters in Bow
Bow isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bow has 585 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Bow faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
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.
Does Bow flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bow. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bow 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.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bow
Disasters that paid out in Bow itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bow), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
- 2021Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides11 households applied for aid$29K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding22 households applied for aid$25K aid approved
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.
Old photos of Bow after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bow archive →Bow and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edison | — | 249 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Bow faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Bow
Is Bow 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 Bow?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bow’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 Bow?
By FEMA money that reached Bow, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2021): 11 households applied for aid, $29K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bow.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bow’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.