R. C. McCroskey House · Photo: Kelly Walters · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Garfield
Garfield isn’t graded for hazard risk: Garfield has 475 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1997.
What Garfield 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
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.
Does Garfield flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1997
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Garfield, from FEMA’s records.
Garfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Whitman County.The storms Garfield remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for Whitman County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Garfield itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19971 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19981 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Whitman County has had 14 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 Whitman County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Garfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Garfield archive →Get ready for what Garfield 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.
- 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 Garfield
Does Garfield flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Garfield since 1997, $25K in all.
Is Garfield 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 Whitman County, 0.3% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Garfield?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Garfield’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Garfield.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Garfield’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.