Falls City Masonic Hall · Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Fall City faces more hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fall City gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%), then earthquakes (22%). 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 Fall City 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 Fall City’s grade
River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fall City, and Fall City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 22%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Fall City’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.6M a year in losses across Fall City: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fall City flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fall City. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Fall City 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.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Fall City
Disasters that paid out in Fall City itself (aid to households or repair grants to Fall City), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides9 households applied for aid$49K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding17 households applied for aid$55K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides10 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
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 Fall City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fall City archive →Get ready for what Fall City 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 Fall City
Is Fall City at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fall City has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and earthquakes (22%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Fall City 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 Fall City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fall City’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 Fall City?
By FEMA money that reached Fall City, Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding (2009): 17 households applied for aid, $55K approved.
Is Fall City at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Fall City’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fall City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fall City’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.