Photo: HistoryTheorist · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Clyde Hill faces more hazard damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Clyde Hill gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, #103 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (60%), then river and rain flooding (39%). 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 Clyde Hill 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 Clyde Hill’s grade
Earthquakes are 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Clyde Hill, and Clyde Hill’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 39% (lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts).
C #103 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Clyde Hill’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Clyde Hill has less expected damage per building than 64% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.1M a year in losses across Clyde Hill: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Clyde Hill flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Clyde Hill. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Clyde Hill 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.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Clyde Hill
Disasters that paid out in Clyde Hill itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Clyde Hill), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2012Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$19K to the City of Clyde Hill for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow$8K to the City of Clyde Hill for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$833 aid approved
- 2006Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides$27K to the City of Clyde Hill for repairs
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.
Old photos of Clyde Hill after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Clyde Hill archive →Clyde Hill and its neighbors
Clyde Hill is 3rd of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medina | C+more damage than 63% | earthquakes | 1 |
| Yarrow Point | Cmore damage than 70% | earthquakes | — |
| Clyde Hill | Cmore damage than 70% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Kirkland | C−more damage than 79% | earthquakes | 6 |
| Bellevue | C−more damage than 83% | earthquakes | 39 |
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 Clyde Hill 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 Clyde Hill
Is Clyde Hill at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Clyde Hill has higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #103 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (60%) and river and rain flooding (39%). 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.
Is Clyde Hill 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 Clyde Hill?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Clyde Hill’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 Clyde Hill?
By FEMA money that reached Clyde Hill, Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides (2006): $27K to the City of Clyde Hill for repairs.
Is Clyde Hill at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Clyde Hill’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Clyde Hill.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Clyde Hill’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.