Photo: Will Maupin · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect less hazard damage per building than Deer Park, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Deer Park gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #6 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1983.
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 Deer Park faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
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.
What’s behind Deer Park’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Deer Park, and Deer Park’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 7% (lower than 50% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #6 of 285 in Washington; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Deer Park’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, Deer Park has less expected damage per building than 98% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $673K a year in losses across Deer Park: $420K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Deer Park flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1983
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Deer Park, from FEMA’s records: 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Deer 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: Spokane County.The storms Deer Park remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Spokane County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Deer Park itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19831 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Spokane County has had 17 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 13 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Spokane County, 2008–2026.
Old photos of Deer Park after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Deer Park archive →Get ready for what Deer 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.
- 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 Deer Park
Is Deer Park at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Deer Park has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #6 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%) and earthquakes (7%). 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 Deer Park flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Deer Park since 1983, $9K in all, or 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Deer 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 Spokane County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Deer Park?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Deer Park’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Deer Park at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Deer Park’s rate for it is lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Deer Park.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Deer 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.