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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Central Park · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Central Park than in 95% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Central Park gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns, #274 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (49%), then river and rain flooding (34%). Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1981.

Earthquakes 49%River and rain flooding 34%Coastal flooding 16%

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 95%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#274 of 285 in Washington
Hazard risk
D−#274 of 285
in Washington · higher than 95% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
49% of expected building damage
Flood claims
23
paid since 1981 · $489K
Flood claims per home
16 per 1,000
more than 81% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Central Park’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Coastal flooding: the top 1% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts; it is 15.8% of the damage it expects.Remembers 200914 flood claims were paid for 2009 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Central Park faces

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

Earthquakes

49%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

34%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Coastal flooding

16%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tsunamis top 1% Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Heat waves Landslides top 4% Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesCold wavesAvalanchesVolcanic activity

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 Central Park’s grade

Earthquakes are 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Central Park, and Central Park’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 16%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Central Park sits
Central Park
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− #274 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Central Park’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes49%River and rain flooding34%Coastal flooding16%Everything else1%

The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Central Park has more expected damage per building than 96% of Washington towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.7M a year in losses across Central Park: $1.9M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Central Park’s 2,841 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Central Park flood? Sometimes: 23 flood claims since 1981

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Central Park, from FEMA’s records: 16.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1981: 3 claims1982: 1 claim1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 1 claim1997: 1 claim1998: 0 claims1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 2 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 14 claims2010: 0 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 claims198120072009
19812026
Biggest named events
  • The Winter storm2 claims · $15K
23
paid claims since 1981
$489K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$21K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Grays Harbor County.
Disasters

The storms Central Park remembers

None of the 30 disasters declared for Grays Harbor County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Central Park itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 200914 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding, declared for Grays Harbor County
  2. 19813 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 20072 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Grays Harbor County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Central ParkGrays Harbor County only

Grays Harbor 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Central Park archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Central Park 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 ↗
When the tide surges
  • 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.
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 Central Park

Is Central Park at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Central Park has higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #274 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (49%) and river and rain flooding (34%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Central Park flood?

Flood insurance has paid 23 claims in Central Park since 1981, $489K in all, or 16.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Winter storm (2).

Is Central Park 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 Grays Harbor County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Central Park?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Central Park’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 Central Park?

By flood claims, Winter storm: 2 paid, $15K.

Is Central Park at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Central Park’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Central Park.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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