Photo: SpokaneWilly · CC BY-SA 4.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Fairwood than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairwood gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #14 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 Fairwood 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
Wildfire
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 Fairwood’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fairwood, and Fairwood’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 5% (lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts).
A #14 of 285 in Washington; lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Fairwood’s residents live in 3 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, Fairwood has less expected damage per building than 95% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.8M a year in losses across Fairwood: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fairwood flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fairwood. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Fairwood 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 Fairwood remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Spokane County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fairwood 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.
Fairwood and its neighbors
Fairwood is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country Homes | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | — |
| Fairwood | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Fairwood 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Fairwood
Is Fairwood at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairwood has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #14 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and earthquakes (5%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Fairwood 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 Fairwood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fairwood’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Fairwood at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Fairwood’s rate for it is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fairwood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fairwood’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.