Glencove Hotel · Photo: garann · CC BY-SA 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Key Center than in 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Key Center gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns, #216 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (58%), then river and rain flooding (36%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2009.
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 Key Center faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Coastal 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.
What’s behind Key Center’s grade
Earthquakes are 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Key Center, and Key Center’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 5%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D #216 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Key Center’s residents live in 2 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, Key Center has more expected damage per building than 76% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Key Center: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Key Center flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2009
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Key Center, from FEMA’s records: 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Key Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pierce County.The storms Key Center remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Pierce County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Key Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20091 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding, declared for Pierce County
- 20121 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Pierce County
- 20221 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Pierce County has had 21 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 Pierce County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Key Center after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Key Center archive →Key Center and its neighbors
Key Center is 4th of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wauna | C−more damage than 79% | earthquakes | 3 |
| Stansberry Lake | Dmore damage than 86% | earthquakes | — |
| Home | Dmore damage than 87% | earthquakes | — |
| Key Center | Dmore damage than 87% | earthquakes | 3 |
| Vaughn | — | 753 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Key Center faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Key Center
Is Key Center at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Key Center has higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #216 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (58%) and river and rain flooding (36%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Key Center flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Key Center since 2009, $91K in all, or 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Key Center 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 Pierce County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Key Center?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Key Center’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Key Center at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Key Center’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Key Center.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Key Center’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.