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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Esperance · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Esperance faces more hazard damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Esperance gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, #152 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (72%), then river and rain flooding (28%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1980.

Earthquakes 72%River and rain flooding 28%

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 78%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#152 of 285 in Washington
Hazard risk
C−#152 of 285
in Washington · higher than 78% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
72% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1980 · $23K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 73% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Esperance faces

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

Earthquakes

72%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

28%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Hail Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 4%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Esperance’s grade

Earthquakes are 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Esperance, and Esperance’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 28% (lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Esperance sits
Esperance
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #152 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes72%River and rain flooding28%

The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Esperance has more expected damage per building than 53% of Washington towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Esperance: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Esperance’s 4,007 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 Esperance flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1980

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Esperance, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 73% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1980: 1 claim1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 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: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 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: 1 claim2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19802022
19802026
Biggest named events
  • The Mt. St. Helens Eruption1 claim · $4K
2
paid claims since 1980
$23K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$12K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Snohomish County.
Disasters

The storms Esperance remembers

None of the 31 disasters declared for Snohomish County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Esperance itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19801 flood claims paidThe year of Volcanic Eruption, Mt. St. Helens, declared for Snohomish County
  2. 20221 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Snohomish County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in EsperanceSnohomish County only

Snohomish County has had 31 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Snohomish County, 2022–2022.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Esperance archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Esperance 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 Esperance

Is Esperance at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Esperance has higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #152 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (72%) and river and rain flooding (28%). 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 Esperance flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Esperance since 1980, $23K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 73% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Mt. St. Helens Eruption (1).

Is Esperance 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 Snohomish County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Esperance?

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

By flood claims, Mt. St. Helens Eruption: 1 paid, $4K.

Is Esperance at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Esperance’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Esperance.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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