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DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Bryn Mawr-Skyway · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bryn Mawr-Skyway faces more hazard damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bryn Mawr-Skyway gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns, #238 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (64%), then river and rain flooding (36%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2010.

Earthquakes 64%River and rain flooding 36%

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

more than 89%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#238 of 285 in Washington
Hazard risk
D#238 of 285
in Washington · higher than 89% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
64% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2010 · $10K
Flood claims per home
0 per 1,000
fewer than 95% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Bryn Mawr-Skyway faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

64%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

36%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Hail Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts earthquakes at 76% of Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s expected losses. Earthquakes do little damage to buildings (64.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s grade

Earthquakes are 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bryn Mawr-Skyway, and Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 36% (higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Bryn Mawr-Skyway sits
Bryn Mawr-Skyway
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D #238 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s residents live in 7 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes64%River and rain flooding36%

The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bryn Mawr-Skyway has more expected damage per building than 83% of Washington towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $11.6M a year in losses across Bryn Mawr-Skyway: $7.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A firm figure. It combines 7 census tracts by where Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Bryn Mawr-Skyway flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2010

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bryn Mawr-Skyway, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 95% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2010: 2 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2010
20102026
2
paid claims since 2010
$10K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$5K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Bryn Mawr-Skyway isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: King County.
Disasters

The storms Bryn Mawr-Skyway remembers

None of the 30 disasters declared for King County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bryn Mawr-Skyway itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20102 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Bryn Mawr-SkywayKing County only

King County has had 30 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 King County, 2022–2022.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bryn Mawr-Skyway after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bryn Mawr-Skyway archive →
Next door

Bryn Mawr-Skyway and its neighbors

Bryn Mawr-Skyway is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Renton: hazard risk DSeattle: hazard risk C−Tukwila: hazard risk D−RentonSeattleTukwilaBryn Mawr-Skyway
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SeattleC−more damage than 83%earthquakes156
RentonDmore damage than 89%earthquakes11
Bryn Mawr-SkywayDmore damage than 89%earthquakes2
TukwilaD−more damage than 96%earthquakes1

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Bryn Mawr-Skyway faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Bryn Mawr-Skyway

Is Bryn Mawr-Skyway at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bryn Mawr-Skyway has higher expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #238 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (64%) and river and rain flooding (36%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Bryn Mawr-Skyway flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Bryn Mawr-Skyway since 2010, $10K in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 95% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Bryn Mawr-Skyway 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 King County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bryn Mawr-Skyway?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Bryn Mawr-Skyway at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Bryn Mawr-Skyway’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bryn Mawr-Skyway.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bryn Mawr-Skyway’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.