FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Chico than in 83% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chico gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, #192 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (60%), then river and rain flooding (35%). 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 Chico 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
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 Chico’s grade
Earthquakes are 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chico, and Chico’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 4%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #192 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Chico’s residents live in 2 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, Chico has more expected damage per building than 67% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Chico: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Chico flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Chico. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Chico isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kitsap County.The storms Chico remembers
None of the 13 disasters declared for Kitsap County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Chico itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Kitsap County has had 13 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.
Chico and its neighbors
Chico is 2nd of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silverdale | C−more damage than 79% | earthquakes | 2 |
| Chico | C−more damage than 83% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Kitsap Lake | C−more damage than 84% | earthquakes | — |
| Erlands Point | — | 854 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 Chico 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.
- 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 Chico
Is Chico at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chico has higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #192 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (60%) and river and rain flooding (35%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Chico 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 Kitsap County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Chico?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chico’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Chico at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Chico’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chico.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chico’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.