Photo: Senior Airman Mary O'Dell · Public domainFEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Fairchild AFB than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairchild AFB gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #1 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Fairchild AFB 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 Fairchild AFB’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fairchild AFB, and Fairchild AFB’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 95% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 7% (lower than 56% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #1 of 285 in Washington; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fairchild AFB’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, Fairchild AFB has less expected damage per building than 100% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $533K a year in losses across Fairchild AFB: $356K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fairchild AFB flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fairchild AFB. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Fairchild AFB 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 Fairchild AFB remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Spokane County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fairchild AFB itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
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.
Get ready for what Fairchild AFB 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 Fairchild AFB
Is Fairchild AFB at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairchild AFB has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #1 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) 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.
Is Fairchild AFB 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 Fairchild AFB?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fairchild AFB’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Fairchild AFB at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Fairchild AFB’s rate for it is lower than 95% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fairchild AFB.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fairchild AFB’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.