Photo: Orange Suede Sofa · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Grandview’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grandview gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, #22 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (61%), then earthquakes (37%). 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 Grandview 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 Grandview’s grade
River and rain flooding is 61% of the building damage FEMA expects in Grandview, and Grandview’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 37% (higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts).
A− #22 of 285 in Washington; lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Grandview’s residents live in 4 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, Grandview has less expected damage per building than 93% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Grandview: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Grandview flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Grandview. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Grandview isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Yakima County.The storms Grandview remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Yakima County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Grandview itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Yakima County has had 19 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 16 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Yakima County, 2000–2026.
Get ready for what Grandview 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 Grandview
Is Grandview at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grandview has lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #22 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (61%) and earthquakes (37%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Grandview 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 Yakima County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Grandview?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Grandview’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Grandview at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (61%), and Grandview’s rate for it is lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Grandview.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Grandview’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.